


Steal my heart, take my breath away

by Clarakluk



Series: Can't help but falling for you [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Cuz apparently I can't make anything else, Dorks in Love, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), I don't understand how ppl write short fics, Keith (Voltron) Has Anxiety, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mentions of Panic Attacks, Multi, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Slow Build, Slow Burn, These dorks, This is already much longer than anticipated, This is so much fluff wtf, What Have I Done, how, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-01-16 14:17:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12344343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clarakluk/pseuds/Clarakluk
Summary: Lance was a romantic.That was a fact of life.And as such, of course he believed in love at first sight, and that someday he'd find his one true love, which is probably cliché, but that's Lance to you.He'd often imagine how it would happen, a cute blonde tripping and falling into his waiting arms, himself tripping and falling into the waiting arms of a buff brunette, catching the eye of the pink-haired girl on the bus - so many daydreams during class and swim practice, he could hardly keep count.He'd thought he'd thought it all up.But this - this caught him off guard.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Look I'm not dead!
> 
> Found a new obsession though, Voltron!
> 
> This fic is cowritten/beta'ed by my best friend, Sara, who for some unfathomable reason does not have an AO3 account. Tsktsktsk, Sara. You can find her on tumblr here: http://hauntedbywordsplacesandhumans.tumblr.com, check her out ;)
> 
> But now! Read on!

Lance was a romantic.

That was a fact of life.

And as such, of course, he believed in love at first sight, and that someday he'd find his one true love, which is probably cliché, but that's Lance to you.

He'd often imagine how it would happen, a cute blonde tripping and falling into his waiting arms, himself tripping and falling into the waiting arms of a buff brunette, catching the eye of the pink-haired girl on the bus - so many daydreams during class and swim practice, he could hardly keep count.

He'd thought he'd thought it all up.

But this - this caught him off guard.

Not so much the bumping into each other in the hallway (though he’ll admit, the paint’s a surprise), but rather the person in front of him.

Because standing there in black skinny jeans, a black tee with a red-and-black plaid shirt wrapped around the waist and a red beanie perched on top of a mop of black, shoulder-length hair was the most stunning boy, Lance had ever seen.

And while Lance could be caught responding to flirtations from other guys, he'd never been the one to initiate it, and he'd definitely never imagined… and yet, here he was, falling head over heels for some gorgeous stranger, who'd just splattered paint all over Lance's swim team jacket.

...and said gorgeousness was currently speaking to him, and Lance hadn't heard a word of what he'd been saying.

“-shit, again, I’m so sorry! I should have been looking where I was going and I probably just completely ruined your jacket and-”

The handsome stranger was rambling out apologies as Lance's brain finally kicked into gear, interrupting the other mid-sentence.

“Hey, you an art student or just art, cuz damn boy, you're beautiful.”

...did he just say that.

Out loud. 

To a gorgeous stranger.

Yes, yes he did.

Shit.

 _Way to fuck your chances up with a bad pickup line, Lance!_ he mentally scolded himself, especially because the delivery had sounded… a bit dazed and way too sincere to be considered an actual pickup line and definitely couldn't be played off as a joke.

Though, to Lance's utter amazement, the other boy froze up, staring shocked at him while a blush exploded on his face, almost rivaling the beanie on his head in color.

“I-I… uhhhhh…” the gorgeous boy spluttered, ducking his head to hide behind his bangs, and Lance was gone. This guy was too much. Too cute. Lance.exe has stopped working. Send help.

Suddenly a phone rang, startling them both. The ringtone sounded like an old alien movie sound effect.

“Shit,” the beauty said, digging his phone out of his pocket while dropping to his knees and hurrying to collect all of the paints in a crumpled box.

Lance kicked himself into motion and began helping the now frantic boy, who what half-yelling into his phone. “I'm so sorry, I'm on my way, sorry, yes, I know I promised, yes Pidge, I'm almost there-”

His things finally collected, he held his phone away from his mouth, the box clutched tightly under his other arm, and softly said, “thank you so much, I'm so so sorry about your jacket, but I really have to go, I promise I'll make it up to you… -somehow, sorry again - yeah, Pidge, I'm here-” and with that, he was gone.

Lance felt his heart break.

* * *

Huuuuuuuuuunk!” Lance whined, throwing himself at his best friend, draping over his back, making the langer boy stumble a bit under the force of Lance.

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Hunk said tiredly, but still amused while flipping the pancake in the air that he was currently making, “which girl turned you down this time?”

Lance gave an offended gasp but didn’t move his head from where it was nestled against Hunk’s neck. “Don’t sound so casual about my heartbreak! My heart is not something to be casual about!”

“When it happens every other day, I can’t help myself in feeling that this is a bit common,” Hunk shrugged, almost dislodging Lance.

“Rude!” Lance huffed, indignantly. “And, FYI, it wasn’t a girl and he did not turn me down, thank you very much.”

“Huh,” Hank said, actually sounding a bit surprised, but genuinely curious, “A guy, huh? But if he didn’t turn you down, then why are you whining all over my pancakes?

“Becaaauuuuse,” Lance whined even louder, “he ran off before I could even get his name!”

Hunk reached up and patted his head with the hand that wasn’t currently holding the spatula. “There, there. You’ll probably meet him again.” Lance whimpered. “What’s so special about this guy anyway?”

“He was just…” Lance sighed dramatically, lifting his head as to better speak, “really fucking gorgeous for starters. His eyes… and his hair… His voice. And he was just so kind? Like, okay, he did splatter a lot of paint on my swim team jacket, but it was an accident and he just kept apologizing – Hunk! He BLUSHED when I used a pickup line on him! He blushed and got all flustered and–”

“Wow,” Hunk gently interrupted Lance’s ramble, “you really have it bad for this guy, huh?”

Lance dropped his head back onto Hunk’s shoulder. “I know…”

“Did he say anything that would help you locate him or find out who he is?”

“Noooooooo…” Lance whined on. “Only that someone named… Pidge? Called.”

“Weird name,” Hunk agreed. “But now the pancakes are ready, so let’s eat!”

Lance jumped up, pumping his fist. “Yes!!”

* * *

If there was one thing that could lift Lance’s spirits, it was Hunk’s cooking. Ever since they were small, Hunk had been helping his mothers out in the kitchen, which meant great food for Lance all the freaking time.

Getting a dorm room together as they moved on to college was the best decision they’d ever made. Especially because Hunk stress-baked, which was amazing in exam periods, because Lance could read aloud to Hunk as he baked, and eat the outcome, which was ALWAYS delicious.  
A few minutes later, they were both perched on their couch, a stack of pancakes before each of them, a Disney movie running on the TV, munching happily.

“So,” Hunk said after some time of comfortable silence, “What’s your plan?”

“My pwan?” Lance asked confused, mouth full of pancake.

Hunk shrugged. “Yeah, you know, to find your artsy prince Charming, who ruined your second-favorite jacket without making you mad?”

Lance glanced down at his now multicolored jacket, swallowing the pancake. “Uhm…”

“You haven’t thought up a plan yet?” Hunk asked surprised. “If you hadn’t just eaten five pancakes in as many minutes, I’d have asked if you were getting sick – though actually, I still think you are, now I think about it… just another kind of sickness, mind you…”

A thoughtful smirk formed on Hunk’s face, making Lance instantly wary. “...what kind of sickness?”

“Oh, you know,” Hunk began nonchalantly, “the symptoms include dilated pupils, bursts of sweating, clammy hands, quickened heart rate…” Hunk paused dramatically, and Lance swallowed nervously. “You, my dearest friend, suffer from a severe case of lovesickness.”

It took Lance a moment to process Hunk’s words.

“HUNK! You. are. The. WORST. Why would you do something like that?! You actually had me worried there for a second! Hunk!”

“I-I’m sorry! But, man, your face! Ahahah,” Hunk wheezed, trying, and failing, to stop himself from laughing. “Dude, seriously, oh my god pfffffft–”

“Shut up,” Lance grumbled, lightly slapping his best friend’s arm. “At least I can admit when I am crushing on someone, unlike sOME OTHER PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM, WHO ARE DEFINITELY CRUSHING ON THAT CUTE BARIS– mmpf!”

Hunk smothered him with a pillow to stop him before he could finish his sentence.

“I am not crushing on her!”

Raising an unimpressed eyebrow, Lance shoved the pillow away. “Uh huh, right, mhmm, which is why you are totally blushing right now. Very convincing, Hunk.”

“I haven’t even spoken to her!”

“Dude, I was there the first time you saw her. As soon as you’d laid your eyes on that soft grunge barista, I knew you were gone for good,” Lance laughed, remembering how he’d had been about to throw a glass of water in Hunk’s face to wake him from his trance, and then just watched as Hunk turned on his heel, all but running out the coffee shop, almost running into the glass door in his hurry.

Every time they’d gone since when Shay was at work, Hunk would run off to ‘get them a table!’ even when they would have their coffees to go.

“Shut your cakehole and watch the movie,” Hunk mumbled, making Lance laugh even harder, but complying nonetheless.

The silence lasted about ten minutes before Hunk broke it again. “You actually don’t have a plan to find Mr. Dreamguy?”

“Mr. Dreamguy?” Lance giggled. “Hunk, have you watched Barbie with my sister again?”

“Dude, just answer the question,” Hunk sighed exasperatedly, but with a fond tone. “Whatcha going to do?”

“No Hunk…” Lance ran a hand through his hair. “I have no idea how to find him… I don’t even know if he goes to the school or if he was just randomly passing by in the hallway and even if he is a student? Hunk, this college is enormous, I don’t stand a chance!”

Hunk sighed. “Man, really? You’ll give up that easily? He can’t have been all that gorgeous then if you ask me.”

Lance sat right back up, staring incredulously at him. “Hunk. If someone told me he was an ancient deity of sex and beauty, I would not be surprised.”

“Then why the cheese aren’t you already running all over campus to find the guy? Or at least coming up with a plan to find him more efficiently than that?”

Lance pouted at Hunk’s exasperated expression.

“Because I don’t stand a chance!”

“You, my good sir,” Hunk said, poking Lance in the chest with a little more force than might be strictly necessary in Lance’s opinion, “are gonna pull yourself together find your goddamn prince on the white horse or the gods help me, I will not make you any food the next week!”

Lance stared horrified at his best friend. “You wouldn’t.”

Hunk squinted, crossing his arms. “Try me.”

Realising how serious his best friend was, he amended, “Okay!” he squawked. “Okay! But please! Hunk, you have to help me! I need that big brain of yours! I can’t do this on my own!”

“Of course,” Hunk said with a smile, “that’s what best friends are for isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Lance smiled back, “Yeah it is.”

“And well,” Hunk added thoughtfully, pulling Lance into a sideways hug, “maybe you’ll get lucky and he’ll find you first!”


	2. Chapter 2

Keith's POV

“I'm here!” Keith shouted, slamming open the door.

“Geez, no need to yell,” a voice in the corner said, Pidge’s head popping up from behind her computer screen.

“Sorry… I have all the things we'll need for your project though?” Keith lifted the box in his arms before putting it on the floor. “You ready to begin or-” 

“Never mind that now,” Pidge interrupted, and shut her laptop decisively, a smirk forming on her face.

Oh no. God, Keith hated her smirks. Nothing good ever came out of Pidge’s smirks. Ever. 

“Pidge…” the warning edge in his voice only made her smirk widen.

“Now, now, Keith, no need to look so suspicious! It's just a simple question!” 

“It's never ‘just a question’ with you,” Keith deadpanned.

Pidge grinned. “I know. So, my question is this: why are you so red in the face, Keith? Who were you talking to when I called, hmmm?”

Keith could feel his cheeks heating up further but refused to acknowledge it.

“That's two questions, Pidge,” Keith said instead, a smirk of his own forming, “I thought you were good at math?”

“Smooth subject change, Keithy-boy, but you won't get out of this one! Tell me! Which cute boy are you fawning over this time?”

“Ugh, I hate you so much sometimes…” Keith groaned, falling down beside Pidge on her bed, face first. “So much.”

Pidge patted his head patronizingly. “It's okay, Keith, I love you too. In a strictly platonic way, of course.”

Keith snorted. “Pidge, you don't love anyone other than in a platonic way, remember?”

“Eugh, like I'd forget.” Pidge shuttered dramatically at the thought. “But!” she added with a glee, Keith only could describe as malicious. “You dooooooo!”

Sighing, Keith buried his head in her pillow. “Nothing new, Pidge.”

“You still hung up on that swimmer?” Pidge whistled. “What he do this time to have you react like that? Did his swim trunks fall off just as he got out the pool or what?”

“What?! No! Pidge!” Keith spluttered, lifting his head to stare incredulously at her. “Nothing like that, jeez! Where did you even get that, you're like, five!”

That earned him a foot in the side, almost pushing him off the bed.

“I'm almost fifteen, you jackass. And I still know what sexual attraction is, even if I don't experience it myself.”

“Except when it's with robots,” Keith muttered, earning himself another kick. “Ow, will you stop that!”

Pidge huffed, crossing her arms. “I am not _sexually_ but _intellectually_ attracted to robots, thank you very much. Not that you would know what that is since it actually requires intellect.”

“Oh wauw, just because some of us aren’t super-geniuses, doesn’t it mean it’s a lack of intellect. But, oh well, I could just not help you with your art project?”

“No!” Pidge exclaimed before she could stop herself. “Keith, that art project is the only thing between me and a perfect GPA! Please! Don’t leave meeeee!”

Keith grinned victoriously, but couldn’t help adding a last jab at her. “You know, when you say it like that, I am even more tempted to just leave you hanging. Maybe then the world will see that you aren’t as perfect as you make everyone else believe.”

“You are a cruel gay, Keith Kogane.”

Keith laughed. “Don’t you mean gu-”

“Did I fucking stutter?” Pidge stared hard at him. He held her gaze for a moment before they both began cracking up, that quickly escalated into uncontrollable laughter.

“Oh my god, Pidge!” Keith hiccuped, clutching his aching stomach. “Stop laughing, you gremlin, I can’t breathe!”

“So now it’s my fault, huh?” Pidge chuckled, calming down. “You’re the one who started it with all your insufferable pinning, you gay.”

Keith’s laughter turned into a long groan. “Uuuuuggghhh… would you just leave it be?”

“Nope!” Pidge said brightly, popping the p.

“Uuuuuuuuggghhh…”

“You emo.”

“Piiiiidge!”

“Just tell me what happened already!”

“Okay, okay! Jeez…” Keith rolled around so he could lie on his back, staring up into the ceiling. “So I was checking out the dorm that Shiro recommended me the other day, right? The one where he and Matt roomed together in their college days?”

“Yeah, yeah, get on with it! I’ve heard that story a million times before from Matt.”

“Okay! Okay, so, uhm, I was kinda running late cuz I had to meet up with you and maybe not really looking where I was going and suddenly he was right there and –”

“Keeiiith~” Pidge interrupted with another infamous smirk and a sing-songy voice. “Who did you run into?”

Keith pouted up at her. “You know who, you gremlin.”

Pidge’s smirk only widened. “Of course I don’t, it’s not like I can read your mind.”

The way she said it made Keith a bit nervous and paranoid, but he sent her a glare nevertheless.

“The swimmer, Pidge. I ran directly into the swimmer!” Keith’s gaze became unfocused as he reached up to grab his hair. “Oh god, I ran directly into the swimmer and I was carrying all of my paints for your project and I ended up splattering them all out over his probably favorite jacket and Pidge, he was wearing his white swimming jersey and there is no way he’ll get the color out of that white fabric and I’ve never actually spoken to the guy before but I’ve definitely ruined all of my chances with him even as a friend and how much of a jerk am I?! And then, just as I think I’ve gone and fucked everything up, he actually said _that_ and then you called and–”

“Keith, hey, buddy, you need to breathe, dude. Wow. Had I known you would try to commit suicide by talking, I wouldn’t have asked. Jeez.” Pidge was grinning down at him, but Keith could see real worry in her eyes.

He took a deep breath before returning her smile with a nod.

“Yeah, sorry, I just…”

Pidge patted his hair again. “It’s okay, but seriously, what could that guy have said that would turn you into such a mess?”

“Well…” Keith hesitated, not because I couldn’t remember (those words were burned into his mind now and forever) but because he knew Pidge would be laughing at how pathetic he sounded. Because those words were as embarrassing as they were wonderful. Because of the hot swimmer’s face when he said them like he hadn’t thought about it, just blurted them out in all of their sincerity…

“Anyone at home? Earth to Keith? Buddy, you there?” Pidge rapped her knuckles on his forehead. “Hulloooooooo?”

“Sorry!” Keith blinked, rubbing his now sore forehead and batted her hand away. “Sorry, got lost in thought.”

Pidge wore her shit’eating grin again. “Uh huh, I’d say. I’ll go ahead and assume it was about a certain swim team captain, hm?”

“I–” he couldn’t even find it in himself to deny it and sighed. “Yeah…”

“Dude, don’t leave me hanging! What did he saayyyyy!” Pidge, in her annoyment, even moved to sit on his chest, bouncing up and down. “Keith!”

Keith huffed as she landed. “I would have said that I won’t be able to tell you if you don’t let me breathe, but dude, you weigh like next to nothing.”

“I will _bite_ you if you don’t tell me right now,” Pidge threatened. Keith had seen the marks on Matt’s arm. She did not make empty threats.

“He used a pickup line on me, okay?” He used an actual goddamn pickup line and I fucking fell for it! I can’t handle it, Pidge! I can’t!”

Pidge was silent for a moment.

“Oh. My. God.” She stared hard at him from where she still was perched on his chest. “Oh my god, he didn’t. You didn’t. Oh my god.” Keith’s cheeks reddened. “He did?! And you liked it?! Keith, what is wrong with you?! How could you fall for a goddamn pickup line?!”

“I don’t know, okay?! But I did and I probably embarrassed myself even further than I already had and oh god–”

Keith cut himself off by hiding his face in his hands.

The silence stretched between them suddenly, making Keith a bit nervous. It wasn’t like Pidge to be quiet like this, not when she wasn’t working on anything.

Just as he was about to move his hands from his face to peer up at her and to ask if she was alright, Pidge spoke up.

“What exactly did he say?”

He voice gave nothing away.

“Uhm…” Keith could try to lie, but Pidge would probably catch on. “He, uh… he said something like, ‘are you an art student or just art, cuz wow, you’re beautiful’...? Or something…”

Keith looked off to the side in an attempt to hide his flaming cheeks.

“Wow. Oh, wow. Your crush might be an even bigger dork than you. To think that is possible…” Pidge shook her head. “Unbelievable. You two deserve each other if only to spare anyone else from the embarrassment it would be to date either of you.”

Keith shoved her off him.

“Oh, wow. Gee, thanks, Pidge,” he said dryly, though his mind was running her words on loop.

_You two deserve each other. Dating._

Just the thought of the swimmer returning his feelings made him giddy.

Then something hit him.

“Pidge,” the panic in his voice was enough to wipe the smirk off her face. “Pidge, I have to know his name!”

“Well, yeah, you did promise to make it up to him for ruining his favorite jacket after all. Sounds like all you need is to give him your number though, so it’s not like it’s gonna be hard. Well, you both probably will be if he is emitting as much pent-up sexual tension as you are, but–”

“P-pidge! Shut up!”

Pidge’s mad cackling could probably be heard the next town over.

Keith sometimes regretted telling Pidge things.

But as she started to plan out how Keith could get to talk to the swimmer again, he couldn’t bring himself to add this moment to the list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new chapter is up! 
> 
> If you haven't followed any of my other ongoing fics, you don't know this, but I do not have a consistent posting time.
> 
> Like, at all. I post whenever I can/feel like it. So yeah... Sorry XD
> 
> Next chapter should be up soon...........


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is kinda short, which is why I decided to upload it already.
> 
> There's probably gonna be some waiting time for the next, but it'll hopefully be longer!

Lance’s POV

It was seven fifty-four in the morning and Lance was running late for class.

Or rather, he wasn’t running as per se, more like walking leisurely down the street, like he had all the time in the world.

It had been a week since that fateful encounter with Mr. Gorgeous God (as Lance had gotten around to call him in his head and sometimes out loud to Hunk when he was feeling the most pitiful and pathetic) and his daydreaming had only gotten worse.

Because now he had a very real and very handsome face to add to his fantasies.

He had been more unfocused at his swim-practice this morning than normal, and his trainer was getting exasperated. If it wasn’t because Lance was one of the best, his trainer would probably have kicked him off the team by now.

But he couldn’t be bothered at the moment because he and Hunk had finally worked out a plan to find Mr. Gorgeous (sometimes Lance abbreviated his name in different manners, though _the God_ was slowly becoming the more popular choice).

Their plan would be executed tomorrow and hopefully lead to Lance’s happy-ever-after.

With all of this in mind, Lance was so focused on his thoughts that he took no notice of the motorcycle driving past him, nor the sound if it stopping and the engine cutting out.

It was only when Lance almost walked directly into the driver, who’d gotten off and was now blocking his path, that Lance looked up annoyed –

Directly into the smirk of Mr. Gorgeous God.

He was there.

Right in front of him.

Grinning self-assuredly at Lance’s bafflement.

 _Oh, dios_.

“Hi,” Mr. Gorgeous God said, and Lance’s brain exploded.

His voice.

So beautiful.

So dark.

Oh my–

Lance ought to say something.

Like, really.

Instead of just standing there, gaping like an idiot.

“H-hi?” he finally managed to stammer and Mr. Gorgeous God’s smirk only widened.

“I’m guessing you remember me, huh?”

“How could I not?” The answer flew out of Lance’s mouth before he could stop himself. The God glanced at Lance’s jacket with all of its paint-splatters still clear as a day. Regret filled his eyes, and Lance sensed another apology on its way, so he hurried to continue, “I mean, have you looked in the mirror, dude? Seriously, how would I be able to forget a face like yours? You’re fucking gorgeous.”

The apology died in the other boy’s throat, a blush forming on his face, _and yes, Lance had definitely found a new hobby._

“I-I… No!” the God spluttered. “No, stop that! I was supposed to be the smooth one this time!”

“Oh dios mio,” Lance mumbled wide-eyed as he watched the other boy pout, feeling a blush forming on his own face.

Silence stretched between them, neither of them really knowing what to say to break it in the face of more embarrassment, until Lance finally pulled himself together, clearing his throat.

“So, uhm, was there any other reason you wanted to belay me on my way to school?” he asked grinning, making the other boy blush again.

“Yeah, uhm…” he cleared his throat awkwardly, a hand running through those black locks _that Lance really wanted to tough and–_

Suddenly, he straightened, smirk back in place. “Hand me your phone, will ya?”

Lance blinked, taken aback at the sudden change in demeanor, but with a smirk like that, Lance would do anything he was asked to without question, which is why he wordlessly handed over his phone, unlocked.

The other boy fiddled a bit with it, then handed it back with a wink. “Call me.”

And with that, he swung his leg back over his bike, jammed on his helmet and gunned the engine, leaving Lance stinging awestruck on the sidewalk, phone still in hand.

After the bike had disappeared from his sight, Lance finally looked down at his phone, the screen lighting up.

A new contact was added.

_Keith Kogane._

Lance was close to fainting.

_FINALLY._

* * *

“HUUUUUUUUUNK!”

“Dude, don’t scream directly into the receiver without warning, we’ve talked about this!” Hunk’s voice sounded from his phone. “And shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Yeah yeah, whatever! Hunk! Keith!”

“Keith?”

“His name is Keith! And I have his phone number! Never mind about your otherwise genius plan! He gave me his number!” Lance was literally bouncing in excitement, almost running on his way to class and barely holding back a scream.

“What?! Congrats, dude! How–”

Lance was too excited to let Hunk finish his question. “He literally rode by me on a freaking motorcycle – he owns a bike, Hunk! – and stopped me on my way from practice, asking me if I remembered him – as if I could forget a face like his, for real – and he gave me his name and number, looking so smug and handsome and fucking _gorgeous_ , Hunk, I swear–”

Hunk cut him off with a laugh. “Okay, okay, I get it. So, you’ve arranged a date with him yet?”

That made Lance stop in his tracks. A date…?! Should he have asked Keith on a date?!

Of course, he wanted to, but what if he rejected? What if he–

“Lance, I can hear the self-deprecating, desperate, half-assed excuses you are making up in your head all the way through the line and man… Just stop. This Keith guy is clearly into you, or he wouldn’t have given you his number in the first place. Or like, intercepted your way to school… So! Lance, get your act together and at least send him a text, so he has your number too, okay?”

Lance took a deep breath to steady himself before continuing his walk, letting Hunk’s words calm him down. “Okay, okay, yeah… Okay, thank you, Hunk.”

A chuckle came from the other end of the line, “No prob, man. Now go get your boy.”

“Yes. Okay, yeah. See you at home and wish me luck!”

“See ya, and good luck, buddy!”

They hung up and Lance took a deep breath to steady himself.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

And with that, he started typing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so there's a lot of texting in this chapter... I hope it's not gonna be too confusing, but I'm always happy to answer if there's anything you want to get cleared up :3
> 
> EDIT: I changed the format in which the texts are written cuz omg it was really annoying to do... yeah...

Keith’s POV

Keith had arrived home about five minutes ago and he was already a nervous wreck.

The swimmer had neither called nor texted and Keith was beginning to doubt that he ever would. He hadn’t even gotten his name, for fuck’s sake!

Pacing and tearing at his own hair was probably not the best idea, but Keith didn’t care. He was too nervous, too agitated to stop and sit still. To do anything but keep pacing really.

He was just about to start a new round of pacing when a loud _DING_! rang through the room. Keith all but threw himself over the sofa to reach his phone on the table where he’d thrown it in annoyance earlier.

And, lo and behold, a new message from an unknown number lit up his screen.

Though he had to admit, reading it through, he was a bit disappointed, as it was way too short for his liking…

 

_Unknown number_

8.34

_Hi ;)_

 

Keith stared. At least there was a winky-face… right?

Sighing, he unlocked his phone and was just about to type back, when another message arrived.

 

8.35

_This is Lance btw ;)_

 

And another.

 

8.35

_You know, the guy you splattered paint all over the other day? ;P_

 

Keith let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and typed out his reply

 

_Yeah, hi. Thought I told you to call me though?_

8.35 

 

The reply came quickly.

 

8.36

_Sry, running and am kinda outta breath so a bit difficult to talk ;)_

_Some random dude had decided to make me even later than I already was by chatting me up in the middle of the street… ;)_

_Sorry, I didn’t realize_

8.36

8.36

_Nah, don’t be, he was cute enough to be apology enough._

 

Was this guy for real?

 

8.36

_Plz tell me u are blushing rn_

_I like making u blush_

...          8.37

8.37

_I knew it!_

_How come you can run and text at the same time?_

8.37

8.38          

_Practice ;)_

_And a great autocorrect tbh_

_Ah, cheating, are we?_

8.38

8.38

_Autocorrect isn't cheating, it's using the utilities given to you_

_Uh huh_          

8.38

_Let's agree to disagree on that_

8.39

_U r just a sore loser!_

_And you just won't admit defeat, even when it's obvious to everyone else._

8.39

8.40

_right._

_Sry Mullet gtg, the_ teach _is giving me the stink-eye for being this late... ttyl! ;)_

 _Mullet_?

8.40

_See you later, Lance_

8.42

 

Keith stared down at his phone. He'd just been texting with a basically stranger for almost twenty minutes? He could barely hold that kind of conversation with Pidge unless a new conspiracy documentary had aired. 

But he had a name now.

_Lance._

Keith let out a long breath, a smile creeping onto his face.

 _Lance_.

The name fit the swimmer oddly perfectly.

_Lance._

Keith saved his number under that name.

_Lance._

Pidge was gonna freak when she heard it. It had been her plan to look for the swimmer when the team finished morning practice because she'd seen him walk by her house a couple of times, hair wet and a gym bag slung over one shoulder, his schoolbag over the other. (Pidge may have had to send photographic evidence for Keith to believe her. He may or may not still have said evidence saved on his phone.)

He should probably text her...

 

_New message to: Gremlin_

_Lance_.

8.50

 

The answer came only a couple of seconds after.

 

8.50

_Lance?_

_His name is Lance_

8.50

8.50

_!!!_

_My plan worked???_

_Of_ course _my plan worked, I'm a genius_

_But still_

_!!!_

 

Keith was and always had been impressed with Pidge's typing skills. They'd once tested how quickly she could type out a message, Keith had found on the internet, and she'd beaten the online record they'd found. Pidge being Pidge didn't want to claim her title though, she said she had better things to do than play around with phones. Plus, having her name connected to a record like that may smudge er academic profile, or so she claimed. 

Plus, she was even quicker on her computer keys. When Keith thought about it, she'd probably make an excellent pianist, if it hadn't been for the fact that she was completely tone deaf without an inch of rythm in her entire body. 

For now, though, Keith settled with getting his excitement and pent-up energy out through his texts.

 

_I know you are_

8.51

_But!_

_I actually talked to him!_

_Without embarrassing myself_!              

8.51

_I am so proud._

_Did you get his number too?_

_Please say you did._

_I did!_

8.52

_And I made him blush_

8.52          

_God._

_At least you can contact him now, so I don't have to listen to you whine anymore_

.........          

8.52

8.52          

_Kidding_

_Sort of._

_Have you arranged a date yet?_

_Uhm, no? Should I have?_

8.52

8.52          

_Yes, Keith! The sooner the better._

 

Keith stared at his phone. A date? How was he supposed to know what he should do for a date? He didn't know anything about Lance except that he was an amazing swimmer...

His phone dinged again with a new message from Pidge. 

 

8.54          

_Dude, stop panicking._

_I can feel it all the way over here, and it's distracting me from my work._

_Sorry._

8.54

_But I have literally no idea what I would do for a date?_

_Like, I have no idea of what he likes to do_

_You know, besides swimming_

_But I would not survive going swimming with him_

_That's for sure._

8.55          

_Haven't you stalked his facebook yet?_

_Uhm no? Pidge? Wtf?_

8.55

8.55          

_I bet he's already tried stalking you._

_I still can't believe you don't have a facebook._

_I haven't had a reason to before_

8.55

8.55          

_Right._

_And now you do?_

_..._

8.55

_Anyway, I don't even know his last name_

8.55          

_McClain_

_...how?_

8.56

_Nevermind, I don't want to know._

8.56            

_Dude, your crush is a nerd. A fish nerd._

_Maybe even part fish._

_I wonder if that's how he keeps winning every swimming competition..._

???          

8.56

8.56          

_Swim team captain_

_Summer job as a swim coach and lifeguard_

_Works parttime at the aquarium_

_Majors in freaking marine biology._

_Dude._

_Your boyfriend is at least part fish._

_And apparently a decent surfer too._

_How do you know all this??_

8.57

8.57          

_It's all on facebook_

_Which you would know if you had one_

_Pidge, this is EXACTLY why I don't have one._

8.57

_It's seriously creepy that you can know all of this stuff about a person without asking them_

 8.57          

_You are an old man in your soul, Keith Kogane._

_Even older than Shiro._

 

Keith laughed out loud at that, almost dropping his phone onto his face. He'd slowly slumped down the sofa till he ended up lying on his back, but he should have learned by now that this wasn't an ideal position to be lying in when he was on his phone. His nose could testify. 

 

_That's impossible. At least I can use a computer properly._

8.58

_And emojis_

8.58          

_...touché_

_Uh, here's something_

_A guy called Hunk tagged Lance in an add for the new laser tag arena_

_That could be an idea?_

_Don't you think that's a bit much? For a first date at least._          

8.58

8.58        

_You tell me, I'm the aro here._

_Why are you even asking_ me about _relationship advice?_

_I'm probably the most incompetent person in this area of expertise_

_Who else should I ask?_

          8.59

8.59         

_Well, Shiro?_

_He's literally dating two people atm_

_Pidge, he is my brother._

8.59

8.59        

_And?_

_Just ask him_

_What's the worst that can happen?_

_You have a brother too. You know what._

8.59

8.59        

...

_Okay fair, but still._

_I think it's worth the risk_

_Ugh_.          

9.00

_Fine. I'll write him._

 

Keith sighed, running a hand across his face.

Shiro would never let him hear the end of this... But Keith was getting desperate.

 

_New message to: Bigbrother is watching_

_Hey Shiro, I have a question_

9.01

9.02

_No, you can't glue Black to a table so you can paint her._

_Again._

_Will you stop with that! THAT WAS SEVEN YEARS AGO_

9.02

9.02          

_Black still hasn't forgiven you._

_Ugh!_

9.02

_Anyway!_

_That's not my question._

9.02          

_Okay, shoot_

...          

9.02

_What do you normally do for a first date?_

9.04          

_WHAT_

_DID MY BABY BROTHER JUST ASK ME ABOUT DATING?_

_WAIT_

_WHO ARE YOU GOING ON A DATE WITH?_

_Will you quit with the capslock?_

9.04

_And nevermind, I'll just google it_

9.05          

_No!_

_Sorry!_

_Okay, so what have you thought of yet?_

_Ugh._

9.05

_Nothing, that's why I'm asking you!_

9.05

_Okay then_

_What about a coffee date?_

_It's simple, public and you still have the possibility of talking and learning about each other, and it's easy t vary the length of it._

_That... is actually a good idea_

9.06

_Thanks, Shiro_

 

Keith sighed. Okay, coffee. He could do that. Simple. Easy. Good for extraction plans if the need should arise.

 

9.07          

 _That's what big brothers are here_ for ; _-P_

_Don’t._

9.07  
 _Don't use emojis like that._

_Just don't._

9.08          

 _I just can't believe my_ lil _bro has a date!_

_Bye_

9.08

9.08          

_I want to know everything about him when I get home!_

 

 _Ugh_. Of course.

Rolling his eyes, Keith got off the sofa and shuffled out into the kitchen to find something to eat.

Now he just had to figure out how to ask Lance…

Not that he expected a no…

But still.

Should he just send him a text? Or should he call?

It would probably be too weird to show up at his school or at his swim practice… He would seem like a serious stalker.

No, texting was probably the safest option. This way he wouldn't stumble over his words or say anything without being able to think it through first.

Yeah, texting it was.

Keith picked up an apple from the basket and took a bite out of it while fishing his phone back out of his pocket.

Now he just had to formulate or without sounding too desperate or eager, but not too casual either…

 

_New message to: Lance_

 

Keith thought for a moment. _What about…_

 

_Hey, so I was thinking... when are you off from school today? Because I was wondering if you'd want to go grab a cup of coffee with me?_

 

His finger hovered over the send button as he read his text through. Was it too forward? Should he start a conversation before he asked? Maybe he should change it, so it wasn't necessarily today…

He deleted it all and started again.

 

_Hi Lance, I was wondering if you'd like to go grab a cup of coffee with me sometime?_

 

Short and simple. Maybe a bit forward…

But that was kind of his style, wasn't it?

 _Fuck it_ , Keith thought, _no need to overthink it_ , and with that, he hit the send button.

On second thought, he screenshotted it and sent it to Pidge. She was all about evidence after all and probably wouldn't believe he'd actually done it before she saw. And rather have her see it now than when Lance replied…

Her answer came almost immediately as always.

 

9.17          

_!!!_

_You actually did it!_

_And while Shiro did help, I'm still blaming you for all the teasing I'm 100% gonna get._

9.17

9.17          

_Hey, you're the one who's gonna get laid soon._

_Pidge!_

9.18

_Stop talking like that! You're five!_

9.18          

_Dude. It's getting old._

_It's taking all of your age._

9.18

9.18          

...

_But anyway... thanks, Pidge. For helping me._

9.18

9.18          

_Of course, that's what best friends are for, isn't it?_

Yeah          

9.18

 

Keith grinned as he put down his phone on the counter. He was just about to turn around to get a glass of water when his phone went off again, signaling another message.

Frowning, Keith picked it back up, checking the screen and then immediately tossed it back onto the counter like a startled cat.

 _Lance_.

_He had answered._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until next time!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! A new update!  
> I'm so sorry guys, I'm horrible at updating regularly. But, I'm close to finishing next chapter as well, so yay!

Lance's POV

Lance had spent the last couple of minutes panicking. How the hell was he supposed to answer a text like that? His immediate reaction had been to write  _YES_ followed by approximately a million exclamation marks. His second notion had been to chuck his phone out the window and run to hide under his bed the next five to twenty years.

The only thing actually keeping him in place at the moment was the stink-eye the teacher kept sending his way. All he wanted to was to scream and jump and dance and die a bit, but for now, jiggling his leg would have to do. 

Sighing, he looked down at his phone again from where it was hidden by his pencil case from the teacher's searching eyes where Keith's message still glared at him. 

How was he going to answer?

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he tried to conjure up the courage to answer together with his usual, self-assured demeanor and opened the message.

Okay.

Here goes nothing.

 

  _I'd like that_

9.19

Sent.

 

Should he add more?

Hm...

Ah, screw it.

 

_You doing anything later today? I'm off at 14_

9.19

 

Good, good.

Now he just had to wai-

His phone vibrated with an incoming message.

 

9.19

_Perfect. Where should I pick you up?_

 

 

Oh. My. God.

Keith wanted to pick him up. 

Lance felt like a small schoolgirl who'd just got invited to her first prom by her crush. It definitely wasn't an all bad feeling.

 

_The parking lot by the science buildings?_

9.19 

 

_Please tell me it's on your bike_ , Lance wanted to add. 

The student beside him, a pretty girl with a cloud of white hair, nudged him with a wink and motioned for him to look up.  _Be less suspicious_. 

Lance sent her a grateful smile and turned his attention toward the whiteboard behind the teacher. Noticing all the new scribbles, Lance realized he probably should be taking notes. The thought disappeared as soon as he felt his phone vibrate again.

 

9.20

_I'll be there 14.10 then. I hope you aren't afraid of speed ;)_

 

Lance felt like combusting.

 

_Can't wait_.

9.20

 

  _AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_

He was going on a date! With Keith! Today!

On a second thought, Lance glanced down himself. Shit, he didn't have time to go home and change unless he skipped the first period of chemistry after his lunch break... On the other hand, Keith saw him this morning and it would be weird if he suddenly wore something else... right?

Lance refrained from dropping his head on his desk, letting out a longsuffering sigh instead, earning him a concerned glance from the girl beside him.

Sending her another quick smile, Lance opened his messages with Hunk.

 

9.26

_!!!_

_Hunk!!!_

Huuuunk _!!!_

_GUESS WHAT_

_KEITH ASKED ME OUT_

_ON A DATE_

_THIS AFTERNOON_

_HUNK_

_PLEASE ANSWER_

_HUUUUUUNK_

_Dude, u r gonna get me in detention_

_But congratz!_

_Where r u goin?_

9.28

9.28

_For coffee somewhere_

_He'd pick me up_

_ON HIS BIKE_

_U sure that's a good idea?_

9.30

9.30

_Hunk, chill_

_If you want, you can wait with me after school_

_I'd feel better if I knew where u were going_

_You don't actually know anything about this guy_

9.30

9.30

_So this is not the time to tell u that I don't think he has a facebook...?_

_Lance!_

_That's it, you'll be sharing your location with me for the whole length of your date._

_That way I can at least tell the police where to look for your body._

9.31

9.31

_..._

_Hunk_

_Okay fine._

_But promise u won't intervene!_

_Otherwise I'll tell on u to Shay._

_FINE_

_I would have said that u wouldn't dare..._

9.32

9.32

_Oh, u know me too well by now ;P_

_-.-'_

9.33

9.33

_Rude._

_So, when r u meeting him?_

9.35

9.35

_The parking lot at 14.10_

_(y)_

9.36

 

"So!" the teacher said loudly enough to startle Lance back into focusing. "If you find your partner for the project now and use the last couple of minutes to discuss what you want to do, I expect you to be finished by the end of next week."

Project??? What project?!?!

However, before Lance could erupt into a full-blown panic, the pretty girl beside him tapped his shoulder. 

"Hey," she smiled sweetly as he turned to her in surprise. "I'm new here and I noticed you weren't paying attention–" oh shit, she was going to tell on him, wasn't she? Shit. "–and I was wondering if you'd like to be partners for the project?"

Lance blinked. That was unexpected.

"Uhm, sure? Can I just ask... Why?"

The girl blushed a bit. "Well, I don't really know anyone here, and uhm, I'm guessing you don't have the highest expectations since you've been texting since you got here...? Either that or you're just a natural, in which I can't see a bad outcome for this partnership." She grinned at the last.

Lance laughed awkwardly. "Yeah no, English Lit has never been my strongest suit or really captured my interest in any way, so..."

"I get it," the girl smiled sweetly. "I'm only in this class because I haven't had American Lit back in England, so I have to catch up. I'm Allura by the way."

Lance shook her hand with a grin. "Lance."

"Pleased to meet you, Lance."

Just then, Lance realized how pretty Allura actually was. Big blue eyes, rich dark skin, white hair with amazingly beautiful curls, kind smile, totally out of Lance's league... and a British accent to top it all of. 

She was just Lance's type, and for some reason, he couldn't find it in himself to even try to flirt with her. The thought of flirting hadn't even crossed his mind before now.

He glanced back at his table where his phone was still lying. How hard had he just fallen already...?

"So!" he said to distract himself. "What's this project about?"

Allura grinned, having clearly noticed the way he eyed his phone. "You sure that's what you want to talk about? Because I'm very interested in the way your attention keeps flitting back to your phone... Who's at the other end?"

Lance could feel his face heating up. "I, uh, well..."

"Is it a girl? Do you have a date?" Allura leaned forward with a grin.

"Uhm, a boy, but yeah..." Lance turned his face away but looked for her reaction from the corner of his eye. 

Allura didn't even skip a beat. "Is he cute?"

"Very," Lance admitted her enthusiasm softening him.

"Please, let me see?" 

At that, his cheeks grew even warmer. "I uhm, don't have a picture of him... It's our first date this afternoon and for some reason, he doesn't have a facebook?"

Allura frowned. "He doesn't have a facebook? That can't be right..." Suddenly she brightened again, turning to her laptop. "What's his name? If there's anyone who can find someone on a social media, it's me. Or well, Matt and his sister, but they are both super-geniuses with everything technological." She waved a hand as if to dismiss them.

Raising an amused eyebrow at her. "Self-confident, are we? But sure, his name is Keith, Keith Kogane."

Allura froze. Lance was just about to ask her if she was alright when she let out a high-pitched squeal, drawing the attention of most of the class. Lance hushed her, embarrassed, but Allura didn't seem to notice the stares they got.

"You are going on a date with Keith?! Cute! Keith's an amazing guy, a little on the shy side, but an angel nonetheless!" 

"You know him?" Lance asked surprised.

Allura's laugh was like a twinkle of bells. "If I do; I'm dating his big brother."

"Woah..." Lance blinked owlishly at her as if seeing her for the first time. Then excitement bubbled up in him. "What's his hobbies? His favorite movie? Interests? Has he talked about me? Has he-"

"You're too cute," Allura laughed, interrupting his ramble. Again Lance realized how odd the situation was. Here he was, talking to the probably most gorgeous girl he'd ever seen, and he didn't feel a thing. She'd even called him cute... and he didn't react at all.

"Keith's very artistic," Allura continued, drawing Lance away from his confused thoughts. "He's not very good at expressing his feelings with words, but watch his paint and it's like you can read his mind." She paused to think, her head tilted,  _and Lance should have found it a lot more cute and attractive than he did_. "I don't know about his favorite movie, I don't think he has one? He only watches these weird documentaries with his friend-"

"That's it for today!" their teacher called out, interrupting Allura's musings. "You'll get some time next class but then I'll expect you to have made something extraordinary! Now–"

Allura leaned in closer to talk over him without raising her voice. "Here's my phone number, we can just meet up or text or something about what our project should be about when you can focus on something other than Keith." She winked as she handed him a small slip of paper.

The rest of the class were already heading out of the room, their chatter a distant noise under the blood that was rushing in Lance's ears. He knew his whole face was cheery-red, but he couldn't help but grin up at Allura as she stood, her things already packed. 

"Allura, you're the best."

"I know," she laughed, giving him another brilliant smile. "See you later, Lance, and good luck!"

"Thanks!" he called after her, turning his attention back to his table to stuff away his things. Then, as an afterthought, just as Allura reached the door of the classroom, Lance called out, "Wait, will I need it?" his voice slightly panicked, to which Allura just laughed and left. 

Lance didn't know if he should take that as a yes or no.

He decided his excitement for this afternoon canceled it out anyway. 

Only four more hours.

He couldn't wait.

* * *

"HUUUUUNK! I CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER."

"It's ten minutes, man. I think you'll manage."

Keith would be here in ten minutes. Lance was about to jump out of his own skin from excitement.

Worriedly, Hunk put a hand on Lance's shoulder, both in a vague effort to keep him from jumping around and to not lose him in the crowd of students as they made their way through the hallways toward the parking lot. "Okay maybe not, you are literally vibrating. Man, chill, would ya?"

"Nine minutes!" Lance yelled instead of answering, his eyes glued to the clock on his phone.

"Wauw..." Hunk sighed good-naturedly as he tried to keep up with the hyperactive boy. His hand slipped from Lance's shoulder as some students came in between them. "Lance–"

"I hope he knows what I meant," Lance kept babbling, barely noticing his best friend falling behind. "I really don't wanna waste time running around campus looking for each other, like imagine that, Hunk, how chaotic that would be and how much time together we would lose, and I'm not even sure if he knows his way around campus, cuz while he was in the dormitories the first time we met, he could just have been visiting a friend or something and I should probably have asked Allura that earlier also about what he studies so I don't look like a complete moron asking him about majors and stuff and then he's not even attending college and also the coincidence that the day Keith ask me out I end up sitting next to his brother's girlfriend, like what are the odds of Allura actually knowing Keith and Hunk, it's really weird cuz normally I'd figure that a guy named _Keith_ of all things would be horribly plain or boring, but somehow Keith is the perfect name for him and he makes it so much prettier, does that make any sense?"

Lance paused his rant and looked back toward Hunk when he didn't answer. Except Hunk was nowhere to be seen. "Hunk?"

He should have been able to spot his friend easily since Hunk was one of the tallest students in their school, but he couldn't even see a hint of the orange bandana that Hunk always wore.

"Huuuuuunk?!" Lance tried calling out, the students around him giving him annoyed glances but otherwise just kept moving.

"Over here!" Hunk's voice drifted to him from the sea of teenagers and Lance spotted him as he turned the corner of the hallway. Lance waved his arms over his head to make himself an easier mark for Hunk to steer against. Other students pushed him off to the side, so he didn't block the entrance door, but Hunk managed to catch up to him, shaking his head.

"I have absolutely no idea how you manage to move this quickly around the halls, man," Hunk sighed, grabbing hold of the strap of Lance's backpack.

Lance grinned guiltily. "Sorry, big guy. When did I lose you?"

Hunk tried to recall as they made their way outside. "You were ranting about how chaotic it would be if he couldn't find his way to the parking lot or something?"

"Sorry..." Lance winced, then checked the clock on his phone again. "Four minutes! Hurry, plan?!"

Clapping Lance's back comfortingly, Hunk pointed towards his car on the right side of the parking lot in front of them. "I'll be waiting in my car and then follow you from a safe distance to the coffee shop, wait a couple of minutes outside and then get a coffee to go that I can drink from a table near the door, but from where I can still see you. If you signal me, I'll go outside and call you with a made-up emergency so you can excuse yourself and meet up with me in the car. Sound good?"

"Yup!" Lance grinned, the giddiness washing over him again. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to turn on the share-location feature, so Hunk would be able to follow him. "There we go, now shoo before he gets here! Two minutes!"

Hunk laughed but did as he was told and made his way over to his car, yelling a "Good luck!" over his shoulder.

Two minutes until their appointed time. 

Jittery with excitement, Lance made his way over to the most open part of the parking lot. 

He was fiddling with the straps of his bookbag when he heard the telltale sound of a motorcycle engine roaring down the street and his heart rate picked up speed.

_Keith was here._

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a horrible human being for keeping ya'll waiting like this. I'm so sorry omg.  
> But! It's date time!  
> And it's way longer than it was supposed to be, but oh well. You deserve it.

Keith's POV

Keith had spent the rest of the morning pacing as excitement and anxiety battled in his mind.

After about an hour and a few near-panic attacks, he went into his room to let off some steam onto a canvas. Painting had always helped him cope with his feelings and sort out his thoughts. Losing himself in the colors and strokes, it wasn't until the clock passed one that Keith realized he probably should be worrying about what he should wear for their date.

He was going on a _date._

With a freaking cute guy.

How lucky was he going to get?

Oh shit, he was probably going to crash on his way to the university or something. Even though he'd ridden Red since he finished her a little more than two years ago and he'd never crashed before, not even coming close. There hadn't been any real problems with her either; she'd never broken down or anything. Of course, there would be a first time for everything... But no. Keith trusted Red. ...Other drivers though... There's a lot of assholes on the road, who could drive into him or something, resulting in a crash. And maybe they'd even wait till after Keith has picked Lance up, so they both end in a traffic accident and Keith wouldn't be able to live with himself if Lance got hurt because of him or worse, he could _die_ and what if nothing major happened to Keith so he'd have to live with the knowledge that he had gotten Lance badly hurt and he'd survived with barely a scratch and–

"Keith! Hey, Keith, breathe. Come on, buddy, just breathe with me. Can you hear me? Just breathe. In, out. In, out. That's it. In and out."

Keith blinked, coming back to himself. Shiro was kneeling in front of him, hands resting on Keith's knees, the easel with his half-finished painting moved to the side to make room.

"Shiro?" Keith asked confusedly. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

Smiling at the concern in Keith's voice, Shiro rose to his feet, his hand moving to Keith's shoulder. "I told you this morning I would be home for lunch. Better?"

Taking a deep breath to chase the last of the panic attack away, Keith nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Come eat lunch with me?" Shiro asked, offering his hand.

Keith took it gratefully with another nod and together they made their way into their tiny kitchen.

"I picked up some food from that Thai place by the station that you like so much," Shiro added casually, but threw a knowing grin in Keith's direction when the latter's stomach growled loudly.

" _Yeeessss_ ," Keith threw himself at the containers on the kitchen table. " _Thank you_."

Shiro laughed and went to get some plates and eating utensils before Keith began eating the food out of the box with his fingers.

When all was set and Keith had dug into the food, Shiro leaned in, a hint of concern in his eyes. "So, what was that earlier about? Are you sure you're okay?"

Keith froze with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth, then lowered them with a sigh. He could never lie to Shiro. "I'm fine, honestly. Just, uhm, nervous, I guess. Caught up in my head as usual. Bad thoughts about luck. The usual."

Shiro nodded seriously. "What has gotten you nervous?" Then Keith watched in horrified fascination as Shiro's face transformed from concern to a shit-eating grin. "Anything to do with... What was it his name was... _Lance_?"

Keith could feel his whole face heating up just at the mention of his name. Shiro's grin widened.

"I don't– what– I..." Keith spluttered until he finally settled on "HOW?!"

"Allura texted me. Apparently, she's project-partners with a Lance in her American Lit class, who couldn't focus today because he had plans later today." Shiro's tone was way too casual for Keith's liking. To get away from his brother's knowing smirk, Keith dumped his head on the table, just barely avoiding face planting his food.

Shiro laughed loudly.

"So, what time's your date?"

"I hate you," Keith grumbled into the table.

"I love you too, lil bro," Shiro grinned, ruffling his hair.

Keith raised his head to glare at Shiro. Then his eyes landed on the clock on their oven.

"SHIT!"

Shiro blinked at the sudden outburst as Keith sprang out of his chair. "Soon, I guess."

"Shit, shit, shitshitshitshit," Keith muttered. He only had half an hour till he was supposed to pick up Lance and the drive was about ten minutes and he still hadn't decided what to wear and–

"Keith." Shiro's voice broke through to him. "Breathe. I'll help you, okay? Just breathe."

The laughter and joking had left Shiro, calm softness taking over his features, making Keith relax as well.

"How long do we have?"

Keith breathed in again. "Uhm, twenty minutes. Ten more for transport."

Shiro nodded, "And what do you need to do?"

Glancing down at himself, Keith grimaced. He'd purposefully chosen a clean pair of black jeans this morning because of his plan to catch Lance after his swim practice, but he had known he'd be wearing a jacket, so his t-shirt was... clearly well-used. To put it mildly.

"I have no idea what to wear," Keith admitted.

Shiro reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Okay. Let's start there then. You taking the bike?"

Keith nodded. "My jeans are clean. They are good enough, right...?"

"Yeah," Shiro said, giving him a reassuring smile as he patted his back. "You eat up and let me find something. I'll be back in a moment."

Looking worriedly at his brother's retreating back as he took a seat again, Keith called out, "Shiro, are you sure–"

"I'm facetiming with Allura!" he interrupted. Keith could almost hear the pout in his voice.

Keith definitely preferred having Allura's expertise in over this, because while he appreciated Shiro's efforts, he knew even less about fashion than Keith, and on top of being colorblind...? Yeah no, Keith was definitely calmer knowing Allura would be helping.

Turning his attention back to his food, he quickly began shoveling in his food, keeping an eye on the clock the whole time.

Shiro returned six minutes later, a bundle of clothes slung over his prosthetic arm, the other holding out his phone in front of him as he spoke to Allura.

"-seems very charming and you should have seen him checking his phone all the time. So cute." Allura's voice sounded strange through the speakers of Shiro's phone, but it was definitely her.

"That's good," Shiro said with a grin, then held his arm up to show off the clothes to Keith. "Allura wants you to try these on. You ready?"

Keith nodded, as he scraped up the rest of his noodles and stuffed them into his mouth, barely chewing them.

"...You _could_ also just have said no and eaten the last like a decent human being, Keith."

Keith just shrugged, making Shiro sigh and Allura giggle.

"Okay then... Well, start with this." Shiro held out a dark red button-down that Keith honestly had forgotten he owned.

"Hm..." Allura said as Shiro held up the camera for her to give her judgment after Keith had changed. "Maybe a bit much? It is only coffee... You are going on your bike, correct?"

Keith nodded, regarding his reflection in the oven. He did feel a bit overdressed in this. He seldom wore anything other than t-shirts and hoodies.

"Shiro, the leather jacket, and that black shirt," Allura said, snapping her fingers. Shiro obediently handed over the clothes to Keith, who quickly changed.

There was silence from Allura's end.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed at last. "Just add your gloves and maybe tie your hair up, then you are ready to go! Ah, I'm so excited for you, Keith! Your first date!"

Keith flushed red. "You better not have told Lance that..." he muttered, taking in his reflection. Even though he normally preferred his red jacket, he had to admit that there was something about wearing his old leather jacket that gave him a confidence-boost. He looked quite cool like this.

"Of course I haven't! I've only told him sweet things! Promise!" Allura giggled. "Oh! Which reminds me, what's your favorite movie, Keith?"

Keith frowned at the camera even though he couldn't see Allura. "Why?"

"Because Lance asked me and I realized I didn't know. So?"

"Uhm..." Keith said, his mind coming up blank. "I don't think I have one? Is that a problem? Wait, is it weird that I don't have one? Of course, it is, everyone has one, but what if he asks? What should I say? What–"

"Keith," Shiro interrupted his rambling. "It's not weird that you prefer other things to watching movies. You don't have to have a favorite anything, for any reason, okay?"

Nodding, Keith sighed. "Okay, yeah."

"Sorry," Allura said quietly, but her voice was filled with kindness. "I didn't mean to make you worry about such an insignificant thing. I honestly didn't expect you to have one, just because of how seldom you watch movies."

"It's okay," Keith said, breathing in deeply. "I'm just beside myself today..."

"Ihhh, so cute! By the way, you should probably get going–"

Keith whipped around to check the clock. 1.58 PM. Shit!

"Hey," Shiro stopped him with a hand on his shoulder as he was about to sprint out of the kitchen. He handed Keith his fingerless gloves. "Just be yourself, okay? Remember to breathe–"

"Wear your boots! They complete your outfit! And those onyx earrings I gave you last year!" Allura interrupted, making Keith grin, shooting her a thumbs up as he hurried out in the entryway.

"And take the extra jacket– and helmet!" Shiro called after him, following. Keith grabbed the box where he kept his earrings and quickly inserted the onyx ones as Allura recommended in his ears.

"Yes, _dad_ ," Keith called back with a grin, earning himself a grumble from Shiro and a pearly laugh from Allura.

Quickly jamming his Doc Martens on and sliding the gloves onto his hands, he jammed the extra jacket under his arm and grabbed the keys for Red.

"See ya!" he called over his shoulder, receiving a chorus of "Good luck!" and with that he ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

The extra helmet was already stored in the compartment under Red's seat sp Keith crammed the jacket down there as well and pulled out his own helmet.

His phone showed 2.02 PM.

Okay, that was fine.

 _You're gonna be fine, Keith_ , he told himself.

Taking a deep breath, he swung his leg over his bike and revved the engine. Just as he took off, he heard the tell-tale voice of Allura, yelling, "Go get 'em, tiger!" which made him grin and glance up at their apartment window where Shiro was leaning out, waving wildly, his phone still clutched in his other hand.

Throwing them a thumbs up, he gassed up and headed towards the university.

He had a cute guy to meet up with and he did not want to keep him waiting.

* * *

Keith reached the edge of campus six minutes later, which was a bit earlier than calculated, but if he had been speeding a bit on his way there, no one could really blame him, could they?

He did slow down though when he neared the campus grounds – no need to get thrown out of the school before he actually had his first day there. 

Following the signs toward the science buildings, Keith could feel his heart rate picking up speed. He had a feeling that if he hadn't got Red's familiar purring under him to calm him down, he probably would have been on the edge of another panic-attack right now. 

 _Breathe, Keith_ , a voice that sounded suspiciously like Shiro's said.  _Just breathe_.

He was nearing the science buildings.

The parking lot was coming up on Keith's left.

The place, where he was meeting up with Lance.

_Breathe._

_I got this_.

Keith gassed up a bit, just so it would look a bit cooler when he would skid to a halt by Lance, should he be there waiting and watching.

He turned into the parking lot, taking the swing with a bit too much speed for what could be considered safe, the bike tilting dangerously to the side, but he managed to right up as he spotted an empty lot in the middle, into which he side-skidded into. It wasn't the best thing to the tires, but worth it once in a while, Keith found.

Adrenalin was rushing through Keith as he stopped and pulled off his helmet, a grin forming on his face as he shook his hair out. 

A sigh came from his left as he placed his helmet down in front of him on the seat. Confused, Keith glanced to the side to see a group of girls, who'd stopped and was now giggling and whispering between themselves, casting him glances.

 _Oh_. 

Keith fought the blush he could feel forming on his face, running a hand through his hair as he tore his eyes away, looking anywhere else but at the giggling group until his eyes caught the movement of a waving arm attached to a grinning but distinctly red-faced Lance.

Keith couldn't help but grin back at him. 

"Dude!" Lance called as he got nearer, half-jogging to reach him, "that was  _so cool_!"

Keith's grin turned into a smirk. "Oh, that? It was nothing."  _Lie._ "It looks much cooler at higher speeds, and well, with more space to maneuver in. It's much easier to do tricks then." That much was true. He'd once made a 360º spin in an empty parking lot at midnight. He'd gotten dizzy enough after his many tries that he'd almost thrown up. Not that he was going to tell Lance that last part. 

Lance finally reached him and was practically bouncing in place. "So, where are we going?"

Getting off, Keith smirked secretively at him. "It's a surprise, but first–" he popped open the seat compartment, "–safety measures."

Blinking, Lance took the offered helmet. "Not too bad boy to ride without, huh?" His grin indicated a joke, but Keith still shook his head seriously. 

"There's nothing badass about bleeding to death with a crushed skull – not that I've ever crashed before, but I don't trust others on the road to not be careless."

Lance stared at him for a moment, mouth hanging slightly agape in an expression  _that Keith probably shouldn't find as cute as he did_ until he cleared his throat, a soft smile overtaking his features and Keith was  _gone_.

"Sounds good to me," Lance said, pulling on the helmet, his soft smile turning into a grin.

"I, uhmm, yeah, okay," Keith stuttered. A new round of giggles erupted from the group of girls, reminding Keith of their presence. These giggles sounded...  _different_ somehow. Keith sent an annoyed glare in their direction and handed Lance the spare leather jacket too. "Uh, you can wear this too, if you want as an extra precaution, though it's not a necessity."

Lance took it, still grinning. "You sure you want me to challenge you for the cool biker look?"

Rolling his eyes, Keith smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not worried. You're too cute to pull it off."

Lance's face exploded in red to a background noise of teenage girls' screaming.

"I ship it!" one of them yelled, making the others giggle even more, and somehow making Lance go even redder.

Keith sent them a confused glance. "I have no idea what that is supposed to mean, but I have a feeling that I don't really want to..."

Hastily nodding, Lance shrugged on the leather jacket over his jersey. "Yeah no, let's get going."

"Okay...?" Keith said, half in confusion, half in amusement, but complied nonetheless, putting on his own helmet again and swinging himself over Red. "Hop on then."

"Uhm... Where?" Lance asked, hesitating. The red of his face still hadn't budgeted, and Keith could feel his own heating up as Lance's eyes roved over him and Red. 

"Behind me," Keith grinned, "and you'll have to hold on tight."

"And you're sure that it's safe?" Lance asked hesitantly as he drew nearer.

"Positive," Keith promised. "I've been driving with Pidge like this countless of times. My brother too a couple of times. Completely safe."

Lance took a deep breath. "Okay."

He braced a hand on Keith's shoulder as he swung his leg over. "So, where do I..."

"Just put your arms around me," Keith said, glad that his tone was a lot more casual than he felt. In reality, his heart was about to escape his chest at the thought of having Lance's arms around him, of having him in such a close proximity.

Slowly, Lance's arms wound around his middle, stopping to grip at his sides.

Despite his racing heart, Keith rolled his eyes. "You'll have to hold on much tighter than that or you're gonna fall off."

"I- I've got strong hands," Lance mumbled but snaked his arms a little tighter around Keith.

Still not tight enough to keep him from falling though. 

Oh well.

One way to show him.

Keith revved Red's engine and turned out the parking lot without warning, maybe with a bit more speed than was strictly necessary. 

Lance squeaked and clamped his arms around Keith so tightly, he nearly knocked all the air out of Keith's lungs.

Keith couldn't help but laugh.

"I told you!" he called over his shoulder, earning him a light slap to his chest, where Lance's hands were clamped together, grumbling something that Keith couldn't hear over the wind.

He carefully swerved out from the parking lot and onto the road leading away from campus, being careful of not going too fast, acutely aware of Lance's arms around him and his warm torso pressed against his back.

Slowly, as they weaved their way through the city, Lance's grip on him loosened and he even whooped once as Keith sped up to catch a green light. Taking that as an encouragement, Keith poured a little more speed on, making Lance tighten his grin again, but Keith could feel his laughter vibrating through his back. 

They arrived at the cafe a little while later, after Keith may have taken them on a bit of a detour to get there. 

As he parked, he could hear Lance's breathless laughter. "That," he said, leaning back a bit, "was amazing."

"Yeah?" Keith couldn't help but grin as he took off his helmet to better twist around and look at Lance.

"Definitely!" Lance pumped his fist in the air, making Keith laugh.

They sat a little like that until Keith cleared his throat. "You'll, uhm, have to get off before me."

"Oh, right!" Lance exclaimed, blushing again before he scrambled off.

Keith huffed a fond chuckle before getting off himself, running a hand through his hair to get it to sit right. Then he popped open both storage units, taking the helmet and jacket Lance offered him back and then gestured towards the door. "Shall we?"

Lance nodded with a shy but brilliant smile and together they went inside.

The cafe that Keith had chosen was one he and Shiro frequented often. The light blue walls and pastel tables and chairs made the atmosphere seem open and friendly, as with the man behind the counter, who greeted them cheerfully.

"Afternoon, young fellas! What brings you here on this sunny day?" Coran asked as he waved them forward.

Lance seemed a bit caught off guard at Coran's loud voice, but returned his smile nonetheless.

"Hey, Coran," Keith greeted him with a small smile, then turned to Lance. "Order anything you'd like, my treat."

Lance, who'd seemed captivated by Coran's impressive mustache, turned to Keith with a protest, but Keith waved him away.

"I asked you out, I insist."

"But–"

"No." Keith glared at him, daring him to protest again. Satisfied when Lance didn't say anything else, he turned back to Coran. "I'll just have my usual."

Coran winked at him. "Sure thing, my boy. And for you?"

 Lance glanced at the menu board above Coran's head. "Uhm, do you serve hot chocolate?"

"Indeed! Do you want whipped cream and marshmallows in it?"

Lance's eyes widened. " _Yeeessss._ "

Keith chuckled fondly as Coran gave them a wink. "Sweet tooth?"

"More like teeth," Lance admitted with a self-conscious laugh.

Keith nodded with a smile. 

"Your drinks will be ready in a moment, boys! I'll bring them down to you if you just find a seat!"

"Coran–" Keith protested, but the man just winked again.

"I'll put it on your tab."

Sighing in defeat, Keith gestured to Lance to follow him down to a table in the far-most corner of the cafe.

"You have a tab in a coffee shop? How often do you come here exactly?" Lance asked in amusement as they took their seats opposite each other. 

Keith sighed again and shook his head with a fond smile in Coran's direction. "Nah, he just calls it that. He's always given Shiro and me a lot of discount, but since he and Allura started dating... I'll admit I would have been worried had I not known how much they still make."

"Wait, Allura? What has Allura to do with this place?" Lance asked, blinking in surprise.

Keith grinned. "Coran's her uncle."

Lance's eyes widened and he turned in his chair to look back on Coran, who was humming along to the song that played over the speakers while making their drinks. "No way."

That made Keith laugh. "I know, right? You can hear it in their accents though. Takashi nearly broke down from embarrassment when he found out after having gushed about Allura to Coran for hours–"

"Wait, wait, wait, Takashi? As in Takashi Shirogane? Legend of the Garrison?  _The_ Takashi?" Lance seemed awestruck, which honestly confused Keith.

"I- I guess? Why?"

"How in the world do you know Takashi Shirogane? That guy is like my hero!" Lance's voice was slowly rising in a mix of excitement and astonishment

Keith just frowned at him. "It's honestly weird that you keep saying my brother's name like that."

"Your brother?!" Lance exclaimed, then seemed to remember that they were in a public space. "Oh my god."

Keith just shrugged, about to reply, when Lance whispered, "No fair, hotness just runs in their family," making Keith splutter.

Lance looked up, looking vaguely horrified. "I did not mean to say that out loud."

Silence stretched between them, Keith staring disbelieving at Lance until he began laughing.

"Oh my god, you're too goddamn adorable."

Now it was Lance's turn to splutter, and while he regained his composure, Keith added, "I'm adopted though, so we aren't actually related."

"That," Lance said, pointing a finger at Keith dramatically, "is entirely irrelevant. I can't believe I'm on a date with my childhood hero's little brother."

Keith snorted. "I can't believe Shiro of all people is your childhood hero. He's a mess."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe," Lance muttered thoughtfully, and Keith had a flashback to last week when Shiro had thrown open the door to Keith's room in a wild panic because he couldn't find his arm.

"Right..."

Just then, Coran showed up with their drinks.

"Here ya go, boys!" he said loudly as always, making Lance jump in surprise.

Keith grinned. "Thanks, Coran."

Nodding satisfied, Coran walked away again to attend to his other customers.

"Jeez," Lance gasped, eyes wide, hand over his heart. "Goodness. How did he manage to sneak up on me like that?! He's so loud!"

Keith shrugged. "You get used to it," he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

Lance made a face. "Let me guess, all black like your emo soul?"

Keith almost spit out his coffee as he snorted. "My emo soul?"

He could see that Lance was trying to keep a straight face, but a shit-eating grin was slowly overtaking his features.

"Oh, come on, you're wearing all black, black hair hanging over your eyes and then there's  _all the leather_ –" Lance cut himself off, his face going red.

"Uh huh?" Keith smirked. "You were saying,  _Lance_?"

Lance visibly gulped, eyes glued to Keith's mouth, making Keith's smirk widen.

"I forgot," he stuttered, his face red.

 "Oh, really? I think it was something with me wearing a lot of lea– hmpf!"

Lance smacked a hand over Keith's mouth to cut him off, his face redder than a tomato. "Please shut the fuck up."

Grinning, Keith shoved Lance's hand away. "Okay, I relent. But seriously, you think I'm emo?"

Lance narrowed his eyes. "Depends... If I say, 'Wake me up', you say...?"

"Uhmmm... 'When September ends'?" Keith answered, confused.

Lance laughed. "Yep, emo. Oh my god."

"What? I don't- What?"

"It's a line from a bunch of songs," Lance explained with a grin. "Personally, I'd have chosen 'Wake me up when you go go', but Green Day? So emo."

Keith couldn't help the pout that formed on his face. "Green Day isn't emo..."

"Hey, I like them too," Lance amended with a grin, "but together with your black broodiness, they kinda are."

"That makes no sense, though," Keith frowned. "How do they change genre just because of my looks?"

"They just do, okay?" Lance pouted playfully. "Deal with it."

Keith chuckled, shaking his head and took another sip of his coffee, letting his eyes wander around the cafe. It wasn't very busy at the moment, only a single customer in line, Coran serving the boy in the yellow sweater with his usual extravagance.

Lance was sipping his hot chocolate, humming happily as he munched on the marshmallows, and Keith couldn't help but find him utterly adorable. How did he end up being lucky enough to sit here across from such a cute boy?

He had no idea. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to mostly be their date... But ended up with so much Keith, it got out of hand.  
> Oh well.
> 
> Till next time ;)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!  
> New chapter is up! A bit on the short side, sorry, but hope the cuteness can make up for it? (It's still 2k...)  
> I have no idea where this is going btw, or where it should end...  
> Which is why it would be some Christmas miracle if I actually got around to post another before New Years. So! To be sure: Happy New Years everyone, may 2018 be a great year with more frequent updates!
> 
> (This fic is now 38 pages in Google Docs... Geez. It's was supposed to be short.)

Lance's POV

Lance was having the time of his life.

Honestly, Keith was so much fun to tease and banter with, and really, his looks were no minus. 

"So," Lance said, looking at Keith over the rim of his mug, "what do you do when you're not on dates with cute boys?"

Keith snorted. "Way to give yourself a compliment, huh?"

Shrugging, Lance just grinned unashamedly. "Someone has to."

The soft smile Keith wore suddenly changed into a serious expression, his eyes intently boring into Lance's. Blinking surprised at the sudden change, Lance moved a bit in his seat as Keith leaned forward and took hold of Lance's hand that was resting on the table between them.

"You are beautiful."

Keith's voice was deep and sincere.

And Lance's face exploded in red.

"I..."

"You are," Keith insisted, tugging in his hand for emphasis, then looked off to the side, his bangs hiding his eyes, but Lance could see his ears flush lightly.

A flustered and borderline hysterical giggle rose in Lance, making Keith look at him from the corner of his eye.

"Oh  _Dios_ , I can't even." Lance tried reigning himself in, hiding his face in his hands. "Ohmygod. Keith! You can't just say things like that!"

Looking up again, Lance noticed that Keith's frown had changed minimally into what could almost be described as... a pout. Keith was pouting.  _Madre de Dios_. Keith's cuteness was gonna be the end of him. 

Across from him, Keith crossed his arms, still pouting, refusing to face him, and muttered, "It's the truth."

Lance couldn't take anymore. 

" _Dios_ , okay, ignoring all that before I actually combust, you still haven't answered my question. What do you do?"

Keith frowned for a moment, his gaze and focus on something over Lance's shoulder, but quickly looked back at Lance when he registered the question directed at him.

"I, uhm, I'm starting at Altea next week actually. Art. I've been out of school for a little more than a year, but Altea accepted me after they saw some of my work, and with a little help and convincing on Shiro's part..." Keith shrugged, smiling softly at the table.

"Why don't you go to the Garrison? I mean, with Shiro and all. I went there for my high-school years. It was great."

Again, Keith shrugged. "I did. I was kicked out after Shiro's accident. The headmaster was an ass. Said some stupid things... So, yeah."

"Huh," Lance leaned back in his seat, studying the boy in front of him. So he had been partially right about Keith being an art student. Nice enough, and it definitely minimised the chances of him being an ax-murderer or anything else Hunk was worried about. 

"Uhm," Keith interrupted Lance's thoughts, leaning forward, his eyes focused on something over Lance's shoulder again. "Not to sound paranoid or anything, but, uhm, I think you have a stalker?"

Lance frowned, following Keith's gaze. And there, at one of the only tables from where their booth was visible, sat Hunk in his bright yellow sweater, hiding behind a physics book.

Sighing, Lance turned back. "Don't worry about Hunk. He's a friend of mine who's maybe a bit overprotective and thought you might be an ax-murderer or something."

Keith just nodded as if the words that Lance had just uttered made perfect sense.

"Good, good. I thought maybe he was into you or an ex or something. I don't like my chances in a fight with him."

Lance stared. "A fight? Why on earth would you have to fight him?"

Tilting his head, Keith kind of reminded Lance of a confused puppy.

"Well, if he tried to do anything you didn't want to or something...?" Keith sounded unsure as if he just now realized that it might be weird to offer to defend another's honor on a first date.

"Oh my god, you were ready to fight Hunk to defend my honor," Lance realized with a start, not really meaning to say it out loud.

"I... guess?"

Lance couldn't help but laugh. " _Dios_ , that is probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever offered me."

He smiled warmly at the boy across from him, who was blushing slightly but smiling softly nonetheless.

"And anyway," Lance continued, casting another glance in Hunk's direction, "Hunk is like a giant teddy bear. He wouldn't hurt a fly if he could help it."

"Hm," Keith just said, giving Hunk a once-over again before settling his gaze back on Lance. "So, where do you know each other from?"

"We go all the way back to preschool, actually," Lance grinned fondly. "He helped me tune my brother's electric scooter and we've been best buds ever since. Made our fair share of trouble back at the Garrison actually."

Keith laughed softly. "Why am I not surprised you would have been a mischievous kid?"

Lance stuck his tongue out at him. "Like you were any better, huh?"

"I think I was more rowdy than mischievous," Keith laughed. "I was always picking fights."

"Ah," Lance said, drumming his fingers on the table, "I can't say I'm actually surprised."

Keith smiled ruefully. "Yeah well, foster kids are mean, so you quickly learn to fend for yourself."

Oh. Right. Keith had said he was adopted. 

"That is where you are wrong," Lance said dramatically, wagging a finger in the air. "It's all kids that are evil. Trust me. I have four younger siblings and lots of small cousins and nieces and nephews. Believe me. All kids.

"You must have a giant family," Keith said, a bit wide-eyed.

"Yeah." Lance smiled to himself, then grinned at Keith. "What about you?"

Keith gave him half a sad smile. "Just Shiro."

When he didn't elaborate, Lance just smiled softly. "I wish my big brother was as cool as yours. Like, wow."

Keith laughed, making Lance's heart do weird stuff in his chest, a sense of pride filling him. 

"Shiro is anything but cool. Seriously, he's just a giant nerd, who works out and is too shy to approach people."

Lance smirked. "Are you sure that it's Shiro you're describing and not yourself?"

"I..." Keith frowned for a moment, then shrugged. "I'm not really shy, I just don't like people. But other than that, I guess we are pretty alike. Except like, in politeness. Shiro is always so polite? I don't get how he does it."

Laughing Lance took another sip from his hot chocolate, almost emptying his cup. This stuff was seriously amazing. So sweet but still bitter. Made on rich, dark chocolate.  _Asombroso_. Soooo good. Lance was definitely coming back here, just to get more of this delicious chocolate.

"Uhm..." Keith cleared his throat, looking distinctively red-faced. "Good chocolate?"

" _Increíble_. Like, wow." Lance nodded enthusiastically, licking his lips. Looking up, he caught Keith's eyes following the movement of his tongue, his cheeks even redder than before. Lance couldn't help but smirk, taking another sip, moaning slightly as he did, and watched as Keith's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

Oooh, a new way of teasing Keith.

Lance could definitely work with this.

Setting his now empty mug down, Lance stretched, making sure his t-shirt rode up a bit. Predictably, Keith's face darkened as his eyes darted down then hurriedly looked away.

"I'll just go to the bathroom, don't miss me too much while I'm gone, no?" Lance said with a wink as he stood up and sauntered away from a seemingly stunned Keith.

It didn't take long for the door of the bathroom to open again, Hunk walking in.

Lance sent him a giddy grin.

"Hunk, he's AMAZING. He's cute and funny and smart and cute and adorable and handsome and cute and did I mention cute?"

Hunk laughed, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the sink. "Okay, I get it, probably not an ax-murderer. He still doesn't seem completely trustworthy though. He kept sending me the stinkeye after I got here. Only just stopped."

Lance couldn't help but giggle. "He actually thought you were stalking me like some crazy ex and was ready to take you on in a fight to defend me if you dishonored me."

Hunk stared in surprise. "Are you for real?"

"Yup," Lance grinned. "He's adorable."

"Okay, I relent," Hunk chuckled, shaking his head. "But I still insist on driving you home."

Rolling his eyes, Lance sighed. "Fine, but then stop lurking like that and actually do your homework."

Hunk thought about it, eyes narrowed a bit, then held out his hand. "Deal."

They shook on it.

"Great," Lance grinned, "but I didn't actually only come out here to assure you, so..."

"Oh, sorry!" Hunk hurried to the door. "I'll be just by the entrance if you need–"

"Thanks, Hunk!" Lance interrupted, waving him out till he left, then shook his head fondly. Hunk was always so cautious around new people... and always wanted the best for his friends.

* * *

 

" _Dios_. HUNK. This has been the best. Day. Ever. In my life!" Lance exclaimed, spreading his arms out as much as he could in the confined space of Hunk's car.

"Better than that time Nelly–"

"YES." 

"Wauw." Hunk glanced at him before training his eyes back on the road. "You really like him, huh?"

"Hunk," Lance said seriously. "I think he's my soulmate."

"I said wauw way too early," Hunk muttered, before glancing at Lance again. "Are you for real?"

"One hundred and ten percent, Hunk. I think he's the one." Lance sighed dreamily, looking up at the stars that were just beginning to show.

After he'd come back from the bathroom, Keith had presented him with a new cup of hot chocolate and a sweet smile. Then they'd proceeded to spend the next couple of hours laughing and teasing each other and all in all just having an amazing time. And Hunk had kept his promise of not snooping too much and moved seats – still in the line of sights, just to be sure, but definitely much less suspicious. He'd even seemed to have a conversation with some kid with ginormous green headphones about something they both got really excited about– he hadn't bothered Lance and Keith after that anyway.

Hunk whistled softly beside him, drawing Lance out of his thoughts. "Well, good for you, I guess?"

"Thanks," Lance laughed, then settled back with a happy sigh. "You know, I could help you set you up with Shay..."

"Lance!" Hunk squeaked. "I told you, I'm not–"

"But why! Hunk!" Lance interrupted dramatically. "Why do you refuse happiness? Why do you repel your chance at true love?!"

Hunk groaned. "She's surely not into me, okay? She's way too cool for me to even consider."

"Why can't you let her decide that, huh? No harm in asking."

"Other than us having to find a new place to get our caffeine fix from, you mean?"

"Hunk, you are making this way harder than it needs to be."

"I'm not!" Hunk pouted.

"Are too!"

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too. Hunk, I have six siblings, I can do this for a week."

"Fine!" Hunk exclaimed in exasperation. "Okay! I'll give it a try! Happy?"

Lance grinned. "Very."

Hunk rolled his eyes, but Lance could see that he was fighting a smile.

"So, did you and Keith plan your next date?" Hunk asked, not so subtly but very effectively changing the subject.

Lance froze. "No? Should we have? Oh god, we should have, shouldn't we? And Keith was probably just waiting for me to ask him, because he had been the one to ask me out this time, and I didn't even think to ask him if he would want to meet up again and Hunk–"

"Lance, trust me, just text him or something," Hunk chuckled fondly.

"But what do you even do for a second date, Hunk?! Normally, I'd probably have invited him to the movies, but Allura said something about him not liking movies for whatever, only weird documentaries, and what does that even mean? Is it like, a subdivision of BBC's lesser known documentaries or something oddly specific or–"

"Again–" Hunk interrupted Lance's rambling as he turned into the parking lot by their dorms– "just text him!"

Lance was silent as Hunk parked, then slowly got out his phone, staring nervously at it. "I guess..."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and feedback is life <3  
> (And if you have any good ideas for where this might go, I would love to hear them!)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT, GUYS  
> IT'S BEEN A WHOLE MONTH.  
> I AM SO SORRY.
> 
> I have started on a new school (for writing no less) and it's been a lot to take in and so much to do, but I finally got around to write out this chapter! 
> 
> Can't make any promises on the next update, but hopefully it'll be a shorter time...
> 
> But! 
> 
> Enjoy this fluff.

Keith's POV

This afternoon had probably been the best time Keith had had. Ever.

He'd been nervous that things would be awkward and that he would stumble over his words and not know what to say or that Lance simply would leave out of boredom.

None of that had happened though; Lance had been so easy to talk to, Keith had forgotten to be nervous. He was loud, but Keith kind of liked it because it filled the silences that Keith tended to leave. And he didn't think he'd ever laughed or smiled this much in such a short period of time before this afternoon, if ever.

He couldn't even stop giddily grinning to himself as he tore down the empty backroads on Red on his way home. 

Even the guy that had given Keith the stink-eye through most of the afternoon couldn't bring him down from his high. 

It was about six thirty by the time he arrived home, having taken quite a detour back. When he came in the door, he regretted not having taken longer though, because Shiro was greeting him instantly with a wide Cheshire-grin.

"You're home early?" he grinned, then called over his shoulder, "Allura! He's back!"

Keith groaned as he took off his boots and jacket, frowning at his brother, as Allura came bouncing out of Shiro's room, clapping her hands excitedly. 

"Keith! You've got to tell us all about everything! Spare no detail!"

Turning his frown to her, Keith sighed and shoved past them into the living room so he could faceplant on the couch.

"Keeeiiiiiiiith!!" Allura sat down by his head, tugging in a strand of his hair. "Come on, I'll hear it from Lance as well soon, so there is really no reason not to talk!"

Groaning, Keith turned onto his back, Allura pulling his head into her lap and began stroking her fingers through his hair. The motion was soothing, making Keith's frown slowly soften into a pout instead. "Okay, fine..."

Silence fell between them until Allura sighed in a mix of exasperation and fondness. "Aaaaand?" she prompted.

Keith glared up at her teasing smile. "Okay, okay! Ugh. Uhm, so I picked him up at school and gave him a ride on our way to Coran's, where we stayed for a couple of hours, just talking until we said goodbye and went our separate ways. End of story."

"Keith..." Shiro's voice sounded from the kitchen, his tone mirroring Allura's from before.

Throwing his hands up in exasperation, Keith grumbled, "I don't know what to tell you! We talked. Nothing else happened."

Allura patted his head. "It's okay. What is he like?"

Frowning, Keith paused. "You know him. You know what he is like."

"I wouldn't exactly say that a five-minute conversation counts for much when talking about 'knowing' a person," Allura mused. "But still, then tell us for Shiro's sake!"

Keith scoffed but complied nonetheless. "Uhm, he's very loud? And energetic. But he's also really funny, he has a great sense of humor. He's easy to talk to. Maybe a bit over the top, but somehow he manages to pull it off as adorable. Oh god."Keith hid his face in his hands. "He so goddamn adorable, I can't even."

Allura giggled and cooed above him. "I take it that it went well? Have you planned when you're gonna meet up next?"

Hands still hiding his face, Keith shook his head.

"You should!" Shiro called from the kitchen, even though he couldn't possibly have seen Keith's answer. Keith stuck his tongue out in his general direction anyway, making Allura chuckle.

"What is he even doing out there?" Keith asked. Shiro seldom spent a lot of time in the kitchen except when– "Are we having guests?!"

He was NOT mentally prepared to have guests over, and since when had Shiro forgotten to give him warnings about things like this? Shiro should have known to–

"Don't worry," Allura interrupted his inner panic, tugging a lock of his hair gently to get his attention. "It's just Pidge and Matt."

"Oh." Keith let out a sigh of relief. "Good."

"He's making quite the fuss about it though," Allura commented, eyes hovering at the door in a mix of amusement and worry. 

Keith rolled his eyes fondly. "When isn't he?"

"Touché," Allura chuckled, picking up a strand of his hair and began braiding it.

Content with the fingers playing with his hair, Keith dug his phone out of his pocket and almost had a heart attack when he saw that he had an unread message from Lance.

"What is it?" Allura asked confused, noticing him freezing up.

Keith silently showed her his screen. The message glared at him.

 

6.12

_Hey ;) I just wanted to thank you, I had so much fun! And, uhm, I would love to do it again sometime? So. I was hoping you would join me for a date at the aquarium? xo Lance_

 

"Iiiiiiih!" Allura squealed, bouncing up and down and jostling Keith quite literally out of his stupor. "Answer him, Keith! Now! You're probably making that poor boy mad with worry!"

Keith glanced at the clock on his phone. 6.47 PM. Lance had been waiting for a reply for more than half an hour. Shit. Fuck. Had that been Keith, he'd have had a breakdown quite a long time ago.

"Now, Keith!"

Keith yelped, almost dropping his phone. "Yes!"

He quickly opened the message app and began typing, lip caught between his teeth.

 

_Hi, Lance. I had a lot of fun today too and I'd really like to see you again. Like, ASAP. So, uhm, yeah... I'm free whenever. Keith._

6.49

 

"You two are adorable!" Allura exclaimed giddily. "How long do you think it'll take him to– oh nevermind, he already did."

Keith's eyes whipped back to the screen.

 

6.49

_Great! This Saturday at 5 PM? ;)_

_Sounds amazing._

6.49

 

"Add an emoji or something, Keith," Allura insisted, tugging at his hair. 

Keith frowned up at her. "I don't use emojis."

"You should." Allura rolled her eyes, reaching out to try and snatch his phone from him.

"No! I'm not gonna send him an emoji, Allura!"

PLING!

Both of them whipped their eyes to the phone.

 

6.50

_I'm working till 5, so we could just meet up when my shift ends?_

_Can't wait._

6.50

 

"Emojis, Keith!

"Allura, stop it, I'm not going to send him any freaking emojis!" Keith huffed. "They are unrealistic anyway."

"Except the heart-eye emoji, cuz you were wearing that expression for hours earlier," a new voice said from the door, and Keith glanced up to see Pidge standing there, wearing a wide smirk.

"I knew it!" Keith sat up and glared at her. "I knew you were spying on me!"

"Duh," Pidge deadpanned, then dropped down to sit on his legs, where they were sprawled on the sofa. "I had to make sure you didn't fuck up our carefully laid plan and wasted all my hard work."

Keith rolled his eyes and dropped his head back down into Allura's lap with a sigh. "Is it a normal occurrence for friends to be spying on each other when on dates?" he wondered out loud to no one in particular.

"Of course," Matt said with a grin as he entered the living room from the kitchen door, Shiro following close behind, a blush highlighting his scar.

Keith was honestly surprised that Allura, who was beautiful and popular in every aspect, was dating two dorks such as these two. But on the other hand, according to Lance, people thought that about Shiro too...

"Lance had a friend there too," Pidge added, not looking up from her phone. 

Frowning, Keith raised his head to look at her. "You met Hunk?"

That made Pidge look up as well, eyebrows scrunched together. "You knew he was there?"

"He kept sending Lance and me weird looks, so Lance explained," Keith answered with a roll of his eyes.

"Huh." Pidge shrugged, eyes returning to her phone. "He seemed nice." A pause. Then, a smirk formed on her face. "He warmed up to you quite quickly after we began talking..."

Keith narrowed his eyes. "What did you say to him..."

"Nothing bad." Pidge waved her hand dismissively, but her smirk was still there. Widening. "Just explained your... situation."

"What situation."

Both Matt and Shiro began giggling and Keith shot them both a venomous glare.

Pidge tapped her chin as if having to recall her words.

"Like... how awkward you are about everything and how you've been moping about for the last week because you couldn't meet up with Lance or talk to him?"

"You didn't." It came out like a warning.

"Keith." Pidge shot him a deadpan glance. "It's me. Of course I did. Though," she held her hand up to stop his outburst, "Hunk told me about Lance though, and how he's been talking about you nonstop. I bet he's even talking about you right now."

Keith's cheeks heated dangerously much, making the others in the room chuckle and coo at him. 

"You guys are the worst," Keith grumbled and covered his face with his hands, just as his phone vibrated again.

There was a scramble of hands as both he, Pidge and Allura tried to get to it first, but Pidge's nimble fingers and sharp claws won in the end. With a victorious cry, she held it out of Keith's reach while moving to sit on his chest, so she effectively could lock his arms down.

"Let's see what we have here..."

She tapped in his password and opened the message from Lance, ignoring Keith's protests.

"Couldn't you at least pretend to guess my passcode?" Keith grumbled in defeat.

"Nah."

Keith sighed in annoyance, until Allura squealed, having leaned in so she could read over Pidge's shoulder.

Keith's eyes widened in panic.

"What?! What is it?! What did he write?!"

Pidge glanced down at him, a smirk on her face. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Of course!" Keith exclaimed, frustrated. "It's my phone after all!"

"Psh."

"Pidge!"

Allura chuckled, taking pity on him. "He's asking if you have skype or facetime."

Pidge snorted. "Which of course you don't, cuz you like in the literal Stone Age."

Scoffing, Keith made another attempt at getting free, but Pidge didn't budge, her weight kept firmly in place on top of him.

"How come it you seem to be able to change your weight at will?" Keith huffed, breathless after his struggles. And, you know, having a fourteen-year-old sitting on his chest. "Like, can you manipulate gravity or something?!

He should have expected her usual answer. "Wouldn't you like to know." It was halfhearted this time though, and Keith realized that her attention was on something it _really shouldn't be on –_  Her fingers were flying over the keys on his phone.

"Pidge, don't you dare– Fuck, no! Pidge! Stop it! Fuck–"

Panic and adrenaline gave him the last boost he needed and he finally managed to buck Pidge off him.

It was too late.

Pidge let out a victorious cry.

SHIT.

"Pidge! No!"

Keith tackled her to the floor and after a moment of wrestling for the phone, he managed to pry it out of her iron grip. 

He sat down hard on top of her, making her groan under his weight.

"Gerroff me, you fatass!" she complained, but Keith just wiggled around, digging said ass deeper into her back.

The others were watching them with amusement clear in their features.

"I remember when you two were like that," Allura said fondly, eyes flickering between her boyfriends. 

Matt grinned. "Oh, you mean last week?"

"Nah," Allura's fond smile turned into a smirk. "I meant last night." 

The wink she sent them made both Pidge and Keith gag exaggeratedly.

"Gross," Pidge huffed, still wiggling about and trying to swat at Keith's back. 

Keith just hummed in agreement as he opened up his message app to do damage control.

What he saw made him freeze up, then shriek loudly.

"Pidge! What the fuck!"

Said girl just cackled manically under him.

"Is it really that bad?" Shiro asked, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. Shiro had always been a terrible actor.

Keith scowled at him and held out his phone.

 

6.57

_So, just out of curiosity, do u by any chance have skype or FaceTime? ;)_

_Nah, I live in the literal Stone Age._

_Plus, I'd rather have your face here so I can smooch it_

6.59

 

"Just bury me already."

Shiro was silent for a moment, lips twitching. "It's not that bad..."

Keith's head whipped up to stare incredulously at him. "NOT. THAT BAD?!"

"Doesn't sound much like you...?" Shiro tried to amend, but Keith was too far out. Frowning, he gave him a last glare, then set about to salvage what he could.

 

_PLEASE JUST IGNORE THAT_

_A friend of mine stole my phone..._

_I'm sorry..._

7.01

 

Keith began typing out a longer explanation just as a message plinged in.

 

7.01

_Oh._

_Okay._

_Sorry again..._

_No biggie!_

_At all!_

_Though..._

 

Keith stared at his phone.

 _Though..._?! Though what?! What was that supposed to mean?! Did he not want this after all? Was he canceling Saturday? Would he–

PLING!

 

7.01

_I wouldn't exactly be opposed to it...?_

_You know._

_So..._

_WELL_

_Would you look at the time!_

_See ya, byeee!_

 

 

Keith stared.

Then stared a little harder.

It couldn't be.

Lance didn't mean it like that.

...Did he?

No, nono, Keith was reading too much into this. 

He surely couldn't mean he'd want Keith to–

Shit.

Oh fuck.

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck what was he going to do?!?!

 

_See you..._

7.02

 

Keith threw his phone across the room, startling everyone with the sudden movement, and grabbed the nearest pillow to smother his own face and scream into it.

"What?!" Shiro's panicked voice drew nearer and a hand came to rest on his shoulder. "What is it? What did he answer?"

Keith didn't look up, just drew in another large gulp of air and kept screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEXT UP, AQUARIUM DATE OwO GET READY FOR THE FLUFF
> 
> (...sometime...)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! Almost at the end, guys!  
> Don't worry, I'll probs make this into a series, but for now, I really ought to finish this story XD  
> Thank you for being patient with me!

Lance's POV

Lance was pacing the living room, trying to get over the fact that he wrote THAT to Keith.

What was he _thinking_?!

Or, rather, why  _didn't_ he?!

Hunk was trying to console him, sitting nervously on the couch, cradling a cup of hot chocolate.

Lance's stood forgotten on the coffee table.

"Man–" Hunk tried, but Lance started up his ramble again before he could say anything else.

"Why did I send it, Hunk?! I knew it probably hadn't been him, probably a friend of his or something, who wanted to prank him, and then he even said so himself and what do _I_ do?! I tell him that I wouldn't mind if he smooched me! Why did I do that?! And then! Then I just ran off and Keith probably think I'm a total creep now or–"

"Lance!" Hunk interrupted. "Dude. Sit. Down. You make my anxieties act up, man."

Lance froze, then quickly dropped down beside Hunk on the couch. "Sorry! It's just– ugh!"

He dropped his head into his hands with a long groan and Hunk patted him comfortingly on his back.

"There, there, it's okay, I'm sure he doesn't think you're a creep. If anything, I just think he's embarrassed 'cause he didn't ask himself and had to get Pidge's help to say anything."

Lance sniffed and nodded, then lifted his head to look up at Hunk in confusion.

"Who's Pidge? As in, Keith's Pidge? How do you know Keith's Pidge?"

"I think she'd resent that," Hunk chuckled. "But, I met her at the cafe. After you made me move tables, I sat down at her table, saw that she had some awesome schematics lying around for a robot arm and an AI and well... It didn't take long for the talk to be about the two of you. Which is why I know that Pidge would be trying to get Keith to open up to you some more and let you in." Hunk shrugged like all of this weren't completely world-changing to Lance.

"I- you- what, how- I- Hunk!"

Hunk startæed a bit at Lance's stuttering reaction.

"What?!"

"Why did you keep that from me?!" Lance exclaimed.

"I just told you?!"

"After two hours!"

"When else did you want me to tell you?"

"I dunno!" Lance jumped up from the couch again and began pacing, making Hunk groan.

"Come on, Lance, sit down." Hunk leaned back, feeling immensely tired, but Lance just kept pacing, seemingly not hearing him. 

"Hunk, does that mean Keith would like me to kiss him? Or is it just this Pidge, who thinks he'd like it, but not really? Or–"

"Lance, Keith likes you just as much as you like him and has been talking a lot about you, so would you  _please_ just sit down, stop panicking and drink your hot cocoa? Please?"

Lance paused, realizing his cocoa was getting cold, and sat back down, curling up to Hunk's side with a sigh, hands cradling his mug.

"Then what do you want me to do, Hunk?"

Hunk hummed as he wrapped his arm around Lance's shoulders. "What about planning that date you invited Keith on? It is in two days after all."

"Yes!" Lance exclaimed, part excitement, part nervous fear. "But what is he cancels or–"

"Lance." Hunk turned Lance's head so he could look him in the eyes. "No if's or but's. Right now you have a date. Should anything come up, we'll figure it out. But right now, you need to concentrate on what is already there. Okay?"

Lance's lower lip began quivering. "Thank you, Hunk. You're like the bestest best friend I could have asked for.The bestest best friend to have ever graced this earth."

"Aww," Hunk laughed, "now stop being so sentimental and let's get this date planned before I end up crying too."

Sniffling, Lance giggled too. "Yeah okay. So, how do we do this?"

"I'm glad you asked–"

* * *

Never in his life had eight hours gone by so slowly as they did that Saturday.

Lance couldn't help but constantly stare at every clock he passed and they never seemed to change.

But at the same time, it all blurred together, screaming children, annoyed parents, stinking fish. The only thing Lance really remembered about those eight hours was the kid who tried to run off with a small squid from the touching pool...

Ink... EVERYWHERE...

Good thing his work pants were black and that he had a clean shirt to change into till when Keith would come.

And suddenly it's ten to five and Lance was NOT ready. He'd sent a text to Keith saying that he should wait for him outside since Lance could bring a guest with him every once in a while without paying, and there was no need to waste money on that. He wasn't allowed to bring his phone with him out of the break room, so he hadn't gotten a chance to see if Keith had answered. 

"Lance!" his boss called, making Lance jump and tear his eyes away from the clock about the octopus tank. 

"Yes!"

His boss gave him a once-over, taking in the inkspots staining his clothes and chuckled with a shake of her head.

"I want you to feed the penguins in the back, then you're free to go."

Lance nodded hastily and gave a salute. "Aye aye, Cap'n!"

He earned himself an eye-roll for his antics and a soft push to his shoulder. "Yeah, okay, off you go."

Lance grinned at her, the hurried off.

The penguins were quick to gather at the sight of him coming in with the usual feeding bucket, and Lance couldn't help laughing. Even these penguins, who were injured or just too stressed to be near people, were quick on their feet when food was involved.

"Hey, guys! You hungry?" Lance grinned as he stepped up to their enclosure. The five penguins all began to chirp and yell loudly as an answer. Lance laughed. "I take that as a yes, huh?"

He fished out a fish from the bucket and dangled it over the penguins. "Here you- whoa!" Lance snatched his hand back. "Oh, hey! Polly, be careful! I wanna keep all of my fingers, thank you very much."

Said penguin ignored his scolding in favor of calling for more fish. 

Lance rolled his eyes fondly. "Okay, fine. But only because I want to hurry."

It took him three minutes to make sure that all of the penguins had gotten what they needed before he hurried out to the backroom to change. He had a date waiting for him after all.

* * *

 

Keith was waiting for him by his bike, just left of the personnel entrance and Lance's heart stuttered at the sight of him. He was wearing black jeans, a red button-down, and a black leather jacket, really going all out for the bad boy aesthetic by casually leaning against his bike, fiddling with his phone like he hadn't got a care in the world. 

It was like he'd stepped right out of one of Lance's fantasies. 

It did things to Lance's heart that he wasn't sure were all that healthy. 

And then the door closed behind Lance, catching Keith's attention and his expression went from casually bored to fond and soft in a second and Lance nearly fainted on the spot.

Ay por dios, this boy was gonna be the death of him.

"Hey," Keith said softly, finally shaking Lance out of his stupor.

He grinned broadly back. "Hey, yourself."

Keith returned his smile, then pushed off his bike. "So?"

Lance couldn't help but stare at his smile. "So, what?"

Smirking, Keith lightly shoved at his shoulder. "So, should we go inside?"

"Yes!" Lance yelped, tearing his eyes away and feeling his cheeks heat up. "Yes, let's go!"

Without thinking about it, he grabbed Keith's hand and led them toward the main entrance, not noticing how Keith's face exploded in red.

There were next to no people in line, so they didn't have to wait long till it was their turn. 

"Oh, hey Lance!" said the girl in the ticket booth. "You out already? It's only a minute past!"

Then her eyes landed on Keith behind him, and a smirk lit up her face. "Ah... I see. That's why you've been so jittery all day?"

"Nyma!" Lance yelped. He glanced back at Keith with an awkward please-don't-mind-her smile, then leaned forward to whisper to Nyma. "Yes, okay?? But look at him! Isn't he adorable?!"

Nyma gave Keith a once-ever, then smirked thoughtfully. "Adorable isn't really the word I would use... More like, burning, smoking hot."

Lance stared at her for a moment, then grinned. "I know right?!"

Behind him, Keith shifted uncomfortably and squeezed Lance's hand lightly, making Lance realize that he was still holding Keith's. He almost dropped it in startlement but managed to stop himself.

"Oh yeah, Keith, this is Nyma. She's worked here almost as long as me, but–"

"–I'm much better at the job than you," Nyma finished with a wink.

Lance stuck his tongue out at her, then smiled at Keith. "Nyma is really good at handling unreasonable visitors and kids. You have no idea the chaos that can ensue by the touching pool..."

Keith chuckled at that, making Lance's smile widen.

Behind the ticket booth glass, Nyma smirked at the two of them, sliding two tickets out. "get going then, you lovesick fools. You scare my customers away with your sappiness." 

Lance's face heated instantly up at her words. He quickly grabbed the tickets and hauled Keith with him away from his annoying coworker, but not without sending Nyma a greeting with his middle finger. 

When they had put some distance between themselves and Nyma and had entered the first exhibition hall, Lance turned to Keith with an apologetic smile.

"So sorry about Nyma," he chuckled awkwardly, hand scratching the back of his neck. "She can be... a bit much."

Keith had ducked his head to hide behind his bangs, but at Lance's words, he looked up, a soft smile on his lips. "I get it, it's okay."

In turn, Lance's smile turned more genuine. Then he excitedly tugged Keith over to the nearest aquarium. 

It was small, embedded into the dark wall with spots mounted inside.

"Look at these beauties!" Lance exclaimed excitedly.

Keith peered inside the glass tank. "Uhm... I can't see anything other than kelp..."

"No, no," Lance pointed, "there! At the bottom of that tangle."

"...uh." Keith squinted harder, then suddenly his eyes widened. "Oh! A seahorse!"

"Leafy seadragon actually," Lance corrected with a fond smile. "Many confuse them though. Aren't they pretty?"

"They look like kelp," Keith stated, deadpan.

Lance sent him a disgruntled and offended look, completely ready to defend his seadragons until he saw the amused glint in Keith's eyes and the twitch in his lips.

"You..."

Keith burst out laughing. "Your face!"

Squeaking in indignation, Lance couldn't decide whether to awe over how cute Keith looked when he laughed, or be annoyed that he was laughing at  _him_. 

He settled on a pout. "There's nothing wrong with my face."

Taking a deep breath to calm his laughter, Keith chuckled at reached up with the hand that wasn't still tangled in Lance's to brush a bit of Lance's hair out of his face.

"No, your face is adorable."

Said face exploded in red and he squeaked again.

"Keith! You can't just say things like that!"

"I can and I will until it's no longer true. So like, forever, I guess."

"Keith!"

Keith laughed again and Lance leaned into his shoulder to hide his overheated face. Keith's laughter died abruptly and Lance felt Keith's breath hitch. When he chanced a glance up at him, Keith's face was tomato-red and he was decidedly looking everywhere but at Lance.

_So cute._

_Oh goodness, please kiss me._

In front of him, Keith froze, then whipped his head around to stare wide-eyed at lance.

Lance stared back, confused until he realized – he'd spoken out loud.

"I..." Keith stuttered, cheeks flaming, and in the back of his mind, Lance was getting a bit worried about the color, but the front was preoccupied with one thought:  _Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!_

Keith's eyes tore away from him, never really stilling on anything, flitting between the other visitors, but staying away from Lance.

_Oh no, oh shit, Fuck! I fucked up, I fucked up big time, nononononono, ay por dios, why can't I just keep my mouth shut for once?! No Keith won't go out with me anymore, maybe not even want to see me again and I'll die all alone and sad with eighty cats and–_

"Uhm," Keith interrupted his inner rant, finally looking back at him, "-right here?"

"Wait what."

"I, uh," Keith mumbled, looking down, "I'm not very good at PDA like that?"

Lance stared.

And then stared some more, trying to comprehend Keith's words. 

"You... You would actually kiss me?" he asked, wonder on his face.

"God yes," Keith breathed, then quickly slapped a hand in front of his mouth. "I mean! Like, uh, who wouldn't?! I mean– uh, I– I'll just stop talking now."

Lance nodded, not really able to do anything else while his face felt like exploding.

They stood there in silence, awkwardly glancing at each other and their surroundings, studying the floors, until Lance finally managed to get his tongue to start working again. 

"So, uhm, yeah... wanna continue?" he squeaked, and Keith nodded hastily.

"Yes, yup, let's go."

Then, after a moment of hesitation, Keith grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

Lance couldn't help the giddy grin that spread on his face.

He pulled a little on Keith's hand to get him to slow down, and soon they were walking side by side through the exhibitions, fingers laced together, smiles on their faces, as Lance told stories about the different fish and other animals, they walked past.

(He had a lot of stories about the octopi and their escape plans and possibly plans to take over the world, but those will have to wait for another time)

The whole time, Keith was listening intently to him, asking questions and laughing along, clearly enjoying Lance's stories immensely, which only spurred Lance on.

Soon they reached the giant aquarium in the middle, and Lance excitedly pulled Keith over to the massive glass wall.

"Keith! I've got someone here you need to meet!" He pointed up to a giant hammerhead shark. "That's Lucy! Ain't she a beauty?"

He looked back at Keith, whose eyes were roaming over all the fish that were milling about.

"Whoa."

Lance proudly grinned, fondness spreading in his chest at the awed look on Keith's face. 

"She was a bit shy when we first got her," Lance told him," but once she got comfortable here, she turned into one huge cuddle monster."

Keith glanced at him from the corner of his eye. 

"You're trying to tell me that a 10-foot shark likes cuddles?"

Grinning, Lance nodded excitedly. "Yeah. Actually, she's 14-feet, but she's really great at cuddling. It's really nice actually, sharks are amazing."

"Huh." Keith turned back to the aquarium, a look of consideration on his face. "I like hippos for the opposite reason, I think."

"What do you mean?"

Keith shrugged, an awkward smile on his face. "Everyone regards hippos as these huge mountains of fat and laziness when in reality, they are extremely aggressive and strong and wouldn't hesitate to kill you if they got the chance."

Lance stared at Keith for a moment, then began to laugh.

"I guess," he giggled, bumping his shoulder to Keith's, "but why am I not surprised? Of course you'd like hippos."

"And what is that supposed to mean, huh?" Keith asked, chuckling as he shoved Lance's shoulder lightly.

Laughing, Lance pushed back, then pulled Keith closer by the hand he was still holding, leaning his head on Keith's shoulder. 

"It means that I find you adorable."

As predicted, when Lance glanced up, Keith's face was on fire, and Lance was kinda dying to kiss his face.

"S-stop saying things like that!" Keith exclaimed embarrassed as he hid his face with his free hand, but the hand still holding Lance's squeezed his lightly, so Lance guessed he didn't really mean it.

Just then, Lucy swam by and Lance put his hand to the glass, watching her with a smile as she swam back and forth, seemingly recognizing him. 

"She... really is an amazing animal," Keith said after a moment of comfortable silence between them.

"Right?" Lance smiled softly, following the shark with his eyes. "You should come by next time there's swimming with them, it's an amazing experience."

Keith moved a bit, and when Lance looked up, Keith was smiling fondly at him. "I'd like that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Lance's grin brightened, and he nuzzled a bit farther into Keith's shoulder, making the other boy chuckle. 

"Don't your neck hurt like that?"

Lance shrugged, not moving. "Worth it."

Snorting, Keith nudged his head until he begrudgingly moved it, about to complain until Keith tucked his own head into Lance's neck, draping Lance's arm across his shoulders.

In their new position, Lance could easily lean his head against Keith's without straining anything at the same time as he could hold him closer by his shoulders – their fingers still interlaced by Keith's right shoulder.

All in all, it was perfect.

Lance sighed contently and nuzzled his nose into Keith's soft locks. Beside him, Keith exchanged the hand holding his, so he could snake his arm around Lance's waist, tugging them even closer together.

They stood like that for what both felt like hours and seconds, just gazing at the multicolored fish in content silence until eventually a woman over the speakers announced that the aquarium would be closing in five minutes and if the guests would be so kind to move toward the exits, please.

Unfolding from each other, Lance felt cold with Keith's body against his side, but their hands were quickly laced together again as they followed the rest of the visitors out.

As they finally reached the parking lot where Keith's motorcycle stood, Keith turned toward him, eyes on his boots but a shy smile on his lips.

"I, uh, had a lot of fun today..."

Lance grinned, squeezing Keith's hand, making the other look up at him through his bangs.

"Me too," he said, smile softening.

"So, uh–" Keith glanced at his bike, "–how do you get home?"

Lance shrugged. "The bus. Not all of us get to ride cool motorcycles everywhere we go," he grinned, winking.

Glancing up at him, Keith seemed to contemplate something, then cleared his throat. "I could, uh, give you a ride? If you want?"

"Really?" Lance perked up. More time to spend with Keith? How could he refuse? "I live kinda far away though, it would be quite a hassle for you, I'd imagine–"

The look Keith sent him made him falter, forgetting what he was about to say. What were they talking about again?

"You would or could never be a hassle to me."

And Lance was GONE.

He just stood there and nodded dumbly, mouth hanging slightly agape, completely floored by the intensity of Keith's gaze.

Keith nodded shortly, then turned to his bike to draw out two helmets from the seat compartment.

"I, uh, haven't brought an extra jacket, but–" he set the helmets down again and began shrugging his own jacket off, "–you can take this." He held it out to Lance, who was still too floored to do anything other than taking the jacket offered to him.

It didn't help that the red button-down Keith wore was sitting tight on him, hugging his shoulders and biceps nicely.

Keith picket up the helmets again, but when he saw that Lance still hadn't moved, he chuckled and leaned against his bike and crossed his arms.

"You gonna get going or do you just want to keep standing there, checking me out?" he asked, a smirk forming on his face, and Lance marveled at the difference between this confident, smirking, badass Keith and the shy, flustered Keith from a moment before.

He's not sure which he liked more. Maybe he liked them both equally. Or maybe he just really liked Keith. 

_Both,_ Lance decided, _both is good._

Finally, he shook himself out of his stupor and shrugged on Keith's leather jacket. It was a bit small, too short on the sleeves, but it smelled like Keith and Lance could feel his cheeks heat up. 

He took the helmet that Keith held out for him this time, and soon they were seated on Red, Lance's arms around Keith's waist as he held on tightly.

Keith revved the engine and Lance had the pleasure of feeling Keith's muscles work under his hands.

"Ready?" Keith asked, tone confident and excited, and it did  _things_ to Lance's fragile heart.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"Ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter!  
> I'm so exicted!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm not dead, yay! And I've actually managed to finish this chapter and get over my writing slump! Whoo!  
> So, enjoy this last chapter of this very long-taking fic...

Keith's POV

When he suggested giving Lance a ride home, it was more of an excuse to spend more time with him, but he hadn't actually thought Lance would say yes. Hoped for it, indeed, but hadn't actually thought it.

Not that he wasn't totally ecstatic about spending more time with Lance, because of course he was, but... 

There were some... consequences... that he hadn't thought about.

Like Lance's arms wrapped around his waist.

Lance's hands splayed out over his stomach.

His stomach lined up along Keith's back...

Oh god, this was a bad idea, but at the same time one of his best...

So much contact...

He craved more.

Not that he hadn't before, especially after the sea dragons...

But! The point was that hadn't it been for Red's purring under him and the wind in his face, ripping in his shirt, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stop himself from being all over Lance, consequences be damned.

They took a sharp turn, and behind him, Lance whooped, making Keith grin. He couldn't help it, Lance just did things to him, making him unable to be in control of his facial muscles.

Lance had given him the rough directions for his dorm, but Keith was choosing to take his time, sue him. He liked having Lance's arms around him, to hear him shout in glee when they took a sharp turn or sped up on the deserted roads.

It took them about twenty minutes to reach the Garrison dorms and Keith was tempted just to drive by and keep going, just to never let it end.

He slowed down though, enough for Lance to point him toward his dorm building. When they arrived, Keith parked right by the door and took off his helmet. His legs felt kinda numb from the long ride, but it was a feeling he was used to, memories of other long trips out of the city to stargaze or watch the sunsets with Pidge brought forth.

None of them said anything as they got off, Keith feeling sad and annoyed about having to say goodbye to Lance, who was fiddling with his helmet, reluctant to leave as well.

"So..." Lance finally said, looking anywhere but at Keith.

"So..." Keith repeated, not knowing what else to say.

Lance chuckled a bit. "Thanks for today... I had a lot of fun."

"Me too," Keith smiled, looking down at his hands. 

"I, uh, should probably give you this back," Lance chuckled again, handing over the helmet he'd worn.

"Thanks..."

The silence stretched between them again as Keith packed the helmet away.

Lance scratched the back of his neck. "This is awkward... It was not supposed to be awkward." 

Was it just Keith, or was Lance pouting?

Grinning, Keith shook his head. "I guess..."

"Soooo..." Lance seemed to try and build up the confidence to say something, and Keith eyed him in hopeful anticipation. "Would you... I mean, like... So, it's getting kind of late? Hunk has made dinner..."

"Oh." Keith swallowed down his disappointment. "I'll, uh, let you get going then... I'll see you–"

"No, nono, I– What I meant was–" Lance interrupted him. "–would you like to come with? And eat dinner with us, I mean... uhm, yeah..."

Keith blinked, uncomprehending. Was Lance really...? "Oh.  _Oh._ Are you sure–"

"Hunk always makes too much food anyway, so there's more than enough, no worries, but like, it's only if you want, of course, no pressure, also Hunk can be a bit much sometimes, so I completely understand if you don't–"

"Lance." Lance's mouth snapped shut. "I'd like that if it's okay." 

Keith tried to smile comfortingly, but he wasn't quite sure he managed to pull off more than a grimace.

"Really?" The way Lance's eyes lit up made Keith's heart flutter. "Come on up then!"

Slowly, Keith packed his own helmet away and locked up his bike to follow Lance up, his mind suddenly reeling with thoughts about wh _at the fuck did he just say yes to oh my fucking god what was he doing shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit–_

"So," Lance said, interrupting Keith's panicked thoughts. "This is us."

They'd stopped at a door on the third floor, though Keith had no memory of walking up the stairs.

Lanced looked over his shoulder and smiled at him before he opened the door.

"Hunk! I'm home! And I brought a guest!"

There was a loud high-pitched squeal from the kitchen that Keith had difficulties connecting to the large man, who suddenly stood before them, wearing mittens and a 'kiss the chef' apron with pink frills around the edges.

"Hunk," Lance said, completely unfazed, "this is–"

"Keith!" Hunk interrupted, holding out a giant, mitten-covered hand for Keith to shake. "I've heard so much about you! Lance literally never shuts up about you. It's so good to finally meet you!"

Keith blinked, overwhelmed as he shook Hunk's hand, but couldn't help smirking when he noticed Lance's beet-red face over Hunk's shoulder.

"You too... So, he talks about me, huh?"

Lance's eyes widened, but before he could say anything, Hunk began.

"Oh, you have no idea! I mean, after your first meeting with the paint, he had this dreamy look on his face constantly and wouldn't talk about anything other than when he's gonna see you again and how he would find you and–"

"Okay, that's enough!" Lance squeaked, finally interjecting, and Keith was satisfied to see that Lance's face was even redder than before. "Hunk! Dinner?"

"Oh, right!" Hunk jumped and ran out of the entryway with a soft, "My ravioli!"

"Uhmmm..." Lance coughed. "Yeah, uh, sorry 'bout that... As I said, he can be a little... much."

Keith smiled, reaching down to tuck off his boots."Nah, don't be. I like it. Reminds me a little of Matt, Pidge's big brother. Though he can't cook to save his life – it's Shiro who saves him from starving in their relationship."

Lance giggled as he showed Keith into the kitchen, then paused. "Wait, I thought Shiro was dating Allura...?"

"Oh, she is. They are all three dating each other," Keith said in an off-hand tone, but he was watching Lance's reaction closely out of the corner of his eye. He'd gotten a lot of weird reactions from people, who didn't understand, who couldn't comprehend that you could love and be in a relationship with more than one person at a time.

"Whoa," Lance blinked. "Power couple much."

Keith snorted. "You have no idea. Matt got bullied a lot when he was younger, cuz he was a grade A nerd and looked it, but ever since Shiro and he began dating, people stopped, too afraid of Shiro. They kept talking about them behind their backs for a couple of years, though – many out of jealousy, because, for some reason, Shiro had a lot of admirers... But then came Allura. I've never seen two boys pine so hard. And they were so awkward because they both refused to admit that they also liked Allura and wouldn't want to hurt the other. It wasn't until Allura finally made a move on Shiro, who politely told her that he had a boyfriend, but she was just like, 'Oh, he's cute too, can I have you both?'. Aaand, that's how I ended up with a very flustered brother and his over-the-moon boyfriend, both of them just melting into puddles at Allura's smile."

Lance broke out laughing. "Oh my god, that does sound like Allura."

"I know right?" Keith giggled.

"Allura from your lit class?" Hunk asked, startling Keith a bit. He'd somehow managed to forget that the big guy was there.

"Yeah, her," Lance nodded, leaning on Hunk to look into the pot Hunk was stirring in. "Smells great, man!"

"Thanks," Hunk laughed, then turned his grin to Keith. "I hope you like ravioli and strong cheese."

"Oh," Keith said, flushing a bit. "Uhm, I do..."

Lance narrowed his eyes at him. "But...?"

Shrugging, Keith tried to sound nonchalant. "I'm, uh, kinda lactose intolerant...?" 

Two pairs of eyes blinked owlishly at him.

"Oh my god," Hunk finally said, looking painstakingly down at the pot still simmering in front of him. "Oh my god, I even put cheese in the ravioli – I knew I should have made taquitos, oh my–"

"No, really, it's okay," Keith interrupted, feeling extremely awkward. "I, uh, have some pills, I'll just take some of those, don't worry–"

Lance stepped in close, a concerned frown on his face. "You sure? We can just make something else, the ravioli will be great tomorrow roo, it's no problem really–"

"No, no, it's fine," Keith said, locking eyes with him. "It's okay."

"Sure?" The concerned frown didn't leave Lance's face.

"Sure."

"100%?"

"Yes, Lance, I'm 100% sure."

"A thousand percent?"

"...Lance."

"Sure as a bomb?"

"What even."

Lance's frown was slowly morphing into a wide grin, and Keith was annoyed with himself that he couldn't help but smile back.

"Awww," Hunk said beside them, startling them both out of the bubble, they'd managed to be absorbed into. "You guys are adorable."

Que two very red faces and shy glances at each other.

"Uhm, sooooo," Lance giggled awkwardly.

"Let's eat!" Hunk said, just as the timer went off.

"Yes!" Lance pumped a fist in the air, then turned to Keith with an excited smile. "Just you wait, this is gonna be so worth it."

Keith smirked. "As long as it's not something you've made, then sure, I believe you."

Lance gasped dramatically. "How dare you! I'll have you know that I'm an excellent cook! Hunk, back me up in this!"

Hunk looked thoroughly unimpressed. "You'd starve without me."

"HA!" Keith grinned triumphantly.

"Lies! Lies everywhere!" Lance turned and with a hand on his forehead, he dramatically pretended to faint. Only, Keith's automatic reaction was to reach out to catch him and suddenly he had an armful of Lance staring up at him in awe.

"Uhm..."

"Nice catch!" Hunk said with a grin.

Keith just blushed and helped Lance to his feet again, stuttering, "Oh, uh, no problem."

"No problem?" Lance said skeptically and made to grab Keith's biceps. "I'm not exactly lightwei– holy cow your arms."

Keith frowned and swatted Lance's hand away. "My arms? What's wrong with my arms?"

"How much do you work out, dude? Whoa." Lance was now really feeling up his arm, and Keith couldn't decide if he should be annoyed, pleased, or just really embarrassed.

"Uhm, twice a week or something? I run a lot though. And working on my bike was a bit of a workout too, I guess, sometimes."

"Your bike take a lot of maintenance?" Hunk asked, trying politely to steer the conversation away from Lance's ogling of Keith. He did seem to show a genuine interest in Keith's hobby though as he handed plates for Lance to set the table.

Keith shrugged. "Nah, after I finished the last few tweaks, she's been driving like a dream." Keith grinned. "I do kinda miss messing around with the machinery though, but I gotta say, the first ride was worth every sweaty, frustrating hour."

"That is very cool. So you've built anything else?"

"I build a bike before Red, but my brother didn't deem it safe enough to drive. I must say, I'm a lot more fond of this one too – she's got a lot better finish than the first one, so that's cool."

"Wait, wait, wait," Lance interrupted. "You've built your own bike?!"

"Yeah, Red. Didn't I tell you?"

Lance gaped at him, his facial color quickly increasing in color. Finally, a tiny little "oh" escaped him, before he excused himself and quickly hightailed it to the bathroom.

While Keith stared after him in shock and confusion, Hunk broke out laughing. "I think you broke him."

Keith blushed. "Uhm... Is there anything that I can help you with?"

"If you would continue to set the table, that'd be great," Hunk smiled. "You'll find glass in that cabinet there and utensils down in that drawer there."

"Got it."

Hunk was easy to small talk with and they kept an easy conversation going until Lance finally came back from the bathroom with a more normal facial color.

"Great, then let's get eating before dinner gets cold!" Hunk said, handing Keith a pot. "I'll just get this and this – yes, let's eat!"

Keith blinked, but followed Hunk to the table, still holding the pot.

"Here, let me," Lance smiled, taking the pot from Keith and placing it on the table. "You can sit here next to me."

Dinner with Lance and Hunk was surprisingly comfortable and easy, and all the anxiety, Keith may have felt fell away, letting him enjoy the evening.

“So, how come you were wandering around with a box of paint here in our halls the other day?” Hunk asked,

Keith winced. “Uhh, right. Uhm, so Shiro, my brother, has told me that I should arrange a meeting to get a dorm before I started Altea, and suggested checking out his old dorm, which is here…”

Hunk nodded along attentively.

“And, uh, I had promised Pidge to help her out with an art project… Which is why I had all the paint.”

Keith shrugged awkwardly, glancing at Lance.

Lance was grinning. “My jacket was missing some color.”

“Ugh.” Keith hid his face in his palms. “I still can’t get over that, I was just running without really looking–”

“I wasn’t looking either though,” Lance interrupted, nudging Keith’s elbow. “Wasn’t all your fault.”

Keith glared. “I still ruined your varsity jacket and I know from Shiro how much those cost–”

“I like it better now.” Lance shrugged. “Had it been someone else, I’d probably be annoyed, but now…? It’s just a fond memory.”

Lance sent Keith a sideways grin, making Keith stare wide-eyed at him.

“Awwwwwww,” Hunk cooed from the other side of the table. “You guys are so cute together!”

“Hunk!” Lance yelped, his face even redder than Keith’s.

“Just sayin’,” Hunk shrugged with a laugh. “So, what are you doing here at Altea, Keith?”

Keith gulped down the ravioli, he’d just stopped in his mouth as an excuse to not saying anything. “I’m gonna major in Art. Or that’s the plan anyway. Shiro went here, and he got me a spot. Also helped that Allura’s father is a part of the school board.”

“Wait, really?” Lance asked surprised.

“You didn’t know?” Keith blinked. “Her last name is literally Altea – her great great grandfather or something founded the school. The only reason she hasn’t been attending before is that she grew up in England with her mother, so she could learn to be ‘a proper English Woman’.” Keith rolled his eyes with a smile.

“Whoa, cool!”

“That’s kinda the same my ma wanted,” Hunk said thoughtfully. “But my mom insisted I learned English before Samoan. They both really want me to learn Samoan culture, which is cool.”

Lance nodded. “My parents have always been very insisting that we learn English too, though we mostly speak Spanish with each other. We often go to Cuba too though, to visit my grandparents.”

“You have siblings, right” Keith asked, making both Hunk and Lance laugh.

“Oh yes. Six of them in fact. Two older, four younger. It’s a mess.”

Keith stared, somewhat horrified at the prospect for being related to that many people. “Six?!”

“I know right?” Hunk grinned. “There just keep coming more.”

“Don’t jinx it!” Lance yelped. “The twins are more than enough, I don’t need another set! Or worse – triplets!”

Hunk laughed. “True, true. Sorry.”

Turning back to Keith, Lance grinned. “Plus, I can’t say any of them qualify as legends the same way Shiro does.”

“I still don’t know what you mean,” Keith deadpanned. “He’s a giant mess, who’d lose his head as often as he loses his arm if he hadn’t got Allura. And Matt too, I guess.”

“...his arm?”

“Yeah.” Keith rolled his eyes. “Somehow he keeps misplacing his protese? Like, all the time. Sometimes Matt hides it, just to see Shiro go crazy looking for it all over the apartment.”

“Oh my god,” Lance laughed.

Hunk chuckled too. “I’ll have to admit, I am quite content being an only child. Having Lance’s siblings while growing up was more than enough.”

“I’d imagine,” Keith smiled.

Suddenly his phone went off in his pocket, Shiro’s caller-ID flashing across the screen.

“Uhm, sorry, it’s Shiro, I gotta–”

“All good, man,” Hunk smiled, waving him off.

Keith nodded and walked into the kitchen.

“Yes?” he said upon picking up.

“ _No, ‘hey bro, good to hear from you, nice to see you worry about me when I don’t respond to any texts and aren’t home an hour after we were supposed to eat dinner together’? Not even a ‘Hello, yes, I’m alive’?_ ”

“No,” Keith deadpanned, then sighed. “Sorry, Shiro. I know, I should at least have texted you. I’m at Lance’s, eating dinner with him and his friend, Hunk.”

“ _Oh! How’s it going? Is this Hunk nice? Was it a good date at the aquarium? Did–_ ”

“Shiro. Stop. I’ll hang up on you.”

“ _Okay, okay_ .” Laughter filled the line. “ _But really, are you doing okay?_ ”

Keith sighed again. “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks though. And again, sorry for not texting you.”

“ _It’s fine. Just have fun and text me when you head home?_ ”

“Will do.”

“ _Thanks. Be good. I love you, lil bro._ ”

Keith rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but smile. “Sure. I love you too. See you later.”

They hung up and Keith went back to the table just as Hunk burst out laughing at something, Lance had said.

They both turned to Keith as he sat down though, Lance looking a bit worried.

“Everything ok?”

“Yeah,” Keith said, giving him a reassuring smile. “Shiro just worries a lot. He’s a complete mother hen sometimes.”

“Oh wauw,” Lance laughed.

“Yeah.”

“But really, Lance,” Hunk said, presumably continuing their conversation from before, “and, no offense to you, Keith, but seeing Lance crush on a biker/bad boy type is so new, I’m impressed. With all those petite blondes, I thought I’d finally found your most prominent type, but now I’m not so sure.”

Lance just shrugged and sent Keith a wink, but Keith could feel his stomach twisting up with anxiety.

Lance’d usual type was petite blondes? Keto was very definitely not either of those things, not to mention that he was a guy. What if this was just a case for Lance? That he’d soon find someone else, some small cheerleader or something?

What if this was just Lance trying something different for the fun of it? What if-

“Keith, hey, you okay? Keith?” Lance’s voice broke through Keith’s hazy mind. Keith blinked up at him.

“Huh?”

“I asked if you’re doin okay? You disappeared there for a moment.” Lance smiled softly, but Keith could see the worry in his eyes.

“Yeah, sorry… I, uh, get caught up in my head sometimes, I’m okay,” Keith tried to reassure him, but it felt half-hearted even to his own ears.

Lance nodded, accepting the explanation for now, but the worry only barely subsided from his expression.

Keith gave him a small smile, but jumped a bit in surprise when he felt Lance reach for his hand in his lap. It was reassuring though, having Lance’s fingers laced together with his own, Lance’s thumb brushing over Keith’s knuckles while Hunk and Lance held an easy conversation.

Time went by quickly until Keith couldn’t push it anymore and had to make his leave.

He thanked Hunk profusely before letting Lance lead him down to his bike.

“I, uh, I had a lot of fun today,” Keith said, looking down at his boots with a blush, hands fiddling with the lock of the helmet compartment of his bike.

Lance stepped closer, taking Keith’s hand, making Keith look up at his soft smile. “Me too. Thanks.”

Keith just nodded, too captivated by Lance’s smile to realize that Lance was leaning closer until his lips landed on Keith’s cheek in a short, sweet kiss.

Keith froze up, cheeks blazing red, and Lance chuckled.

“See you soon?”

Keith nodded automatically, still not fully aware, until Lance was halfway through the door.

“Wait!” He yelped, running after Lance, not knowing what he was doing before his lips crashed against Lance’s surprised ones. It didn’t take either of them very long to completely melt into their kiss.

Keith lost completely track of how long they’d been standing there in the door when a timid voice cleared their throat behind them. They both quickly turned their heads to see a girl standing behind them, red faced, gesturing to the door.

“Uhhh, could I Uhm… could I get inside?”

Keith nodded hastily and bodily pushed Lance with him out of the way, muttering apologies to the girl and all in all feeling like dying of mortification.

Lance, however, was just gazing down at him with a dizzy smile, which only made Keith’s heart beat faster. God, this boy was gorgeous.

“Well…” Keith said, just to say something. Lance’s gaze was too soft and too intense at the same time. Too much.

Lance sighed happily and pulled Keith in tighter by the arms, Keith just realized now, was locked around his back. He also realized that his own hands were tangled in Lance’s short, brown hair _and just how soft these locks actually were, oh my god whoa-_

Lance hummed and nuzzled into Keith’s wandering fingers.

_Oh god, he was cute. So cute._

He couldn’t help reaching up to peck Lance’s lips again.

Lance’s arms tightened around him, keeping Keith on his tiptoes, lips locked in place. Keith couldn’t say he minded.

After another who-knows-how-long moment, Lance leaned a bit away, chuckling as Keith tried to follow.

“I thought you had to go, hm?”

Keith whined, eyes still closed. “Don’t wanna leave.”

Laughing softly, Lance brushed a bit of Keith’s hair away from his face, Keith’s eyes fluttering open.

“You know, I don’t have any plans tomorrow…?”

“Really?” Keith stared hopefully up at him. “Could I see you tomorrow?”

“I would love that,” Lance grinned.

Keith nodded, determined. “Me too. Pick you up at twelve for lunch?”

“Sure thing.” Lance pecked his nose. “Tomorrow.”

“Can’t wait,” Keith smiled and leaned up to give Lance another kiss. “Literally.”

“Mhmm,” Lance hummed with a laugh. “Yeah. I know what you mean, but you really should be going - can’t have your brother dislike me before I’ve even officially met him.”

Keith poured, but retracted his hands from Lance’s hair. “Fine.”

“Tomorrow.” Lance kissed him shortly. “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.” Keith sighed, the finally let go, getting out his helmet and putting it on. As he mounted his bike, he turned back to Lance with a smirk. “Better not be late. I hate waiting.”

Lance laughed, shaking his head. “Of course, Mullet. Like I’m not gonna stare out the window to see you arrive.”

“That’s what u like to hear.” Keith winked, making Lance laugh and blush, then revved the engine. “Tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow!” Lance called back, watching Keith back out and start down the street, giddy smiles on both their faces.

Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was it for this time!  
> Hope you enjoyed, stay safe out there and remember that kudos and comments are life <3
> 
> Till next time!


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